Just Trust Me
by RunsWithBulls
Summary: When Kagura realizes that she likes Sakaki a little more than she thought she did, what will she do to prove it to her? Rated T just to be safe, mostly for language in future chapters. First chapters are a bit slow (my apologies), but it gets better, along with the writing.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: What's good, readers? Well, here's my first fanfiction. Any and all reviews are welcome. Especially tips on how to improve! If it sucks, tell me. If you love it and want more, tell me that too. I have a pretty idea of where I want to go with this, so there will be multiple chapters. Reason for writing? I feel like the KaguraxSakaki pairing doesn't get enough attention, so I took matters into my own hands. Hope you all enjoy this as much as I did writing it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Azumanga Daioh. Enough said.

Chapter 1

It started as any other day, really. Kagura walked home with Sakaki, talking the whole time about mountain bikes and swimming, while Sakaki listened patiently. Kagura really don't know why Sakaki agreed to walk home with her every day, but she was glad that Sakaki never turned down an invitation. Kagura admired the strong, silent girl. She was everything Kagura wished she could be. Kagura thought of it in a similar way to how she looked up to the big name sports stars; an admiration of skills and character. Kagura returned home, went up to her room, collapsed on the bed, and stared at the ceiling, exhausted from another day of Yukari's antics. As she lay there, her mind began to wander, and Kagura couldn't help but to reflect on her walk with Sakaki. Kagura noticed a lot of new things today, like Sakaki's graceful walk, the way the sun glinted off her raven hair, the sadness in her delicate face when Kagura scared yet another kitten away...wait, delicate face? Raven hair? She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"What the hell am I thinking?" Kagura cursed herself mentally. "Sakaki is a friend. My best friend. Sure, we're a little different. But our differences complement each other, right? We should be together."

Together.

Kagura cursed again. She stood up and let her head fall against the wall with a dull thud, in hopes that this would drive the thoughts from her head. Why was she thinking this way? She didn't...no, she couldn't...actually LIKE Sakaki, could she? No way, she told herself. Naturally, Kagura did the only thing she could do. She pulled on some exercise clothes, walked out the front door, and ran.

Meanwhile, Sakaki was having thoughts of her own. Kagura had dropped her off, like usual, but their farewells seemed off today. Kagura looked as if she was having trouble forming sentences. She avoided eye contact like the plague, grinned sheepishly, and rubbed the back of her head anxiously, ruffling her short brown hair. Sakaki was much more observant than Kagura, and had noticed, on multiple occasions, Kagura looking at her. Just the thought of Kagura looking at her like that, her deep brown eyes looking over Sakaki, taking in each detail, made Sakaki blush. Sakaki was not a stranger to being looked at. But there was just something different about the way Kagura did it that made it replay over and over in Sakaki's mind. Unlike Kagura, however, Sakaki didn't give it much thought. Kagura was Kagura, after all, and as strange as she could be, Sakaki was glad that someone was not intimidated by her.

Kagura returned from her run. She had ran much farther than she had anticipated on going, and was regretting it now. She showered and got ready for bed, skipping dinner all together. She wasn't hungry, even though she had every reason to be. But now was not the time to be eating. And although she was physically drained, her mind raced, leaving her sleepless. Kagura hated feeling like this. She felt so many things at once; so many that she felt ready to explode. For one, she was confused. Why the hell was she even thinking like this anyways? She was afraid. What would people say? Her parents? Their friends? Classmates? She was upset. Why did this happen to her? She was excited. Sure, she had noticed guys before, but not like this. She was a bubble of emotions, ready to pop at the slightest touch. But she was Kagura! She was a competitor. She knew that somehow, she'd have to raise to this challenge, and conquer it. She always did, after all. "I gotta get this figured out," she beat herself mentally, trying to figure out the best way to approach this. "Who knows, today could have just been a little more tiring than usual. Tomo was particularly hyper today. I'm probably just not thinking straight. I'll just have to test this tomorrow...somehow..." and from there, Kagura developed a plan, a way to test just how much she noticed Sakaki. With this plan written out, Kagura was able to drift off to sleep, ready for whatever the next day of school could bring.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: _Italics_ will be used for Kagura's thoughts from now on. I don't own Azumanga** **Daioh.**

The next morning, Kagura set off to school in an exceptionally good mood, considering yesterday's events. She was excited to see what the day had in store for her, and even more so, was excited to rise to this newest occasion. She strode off to the high school, with a small notebook and black pen in hand. The night before, she had crafted a master plan to "test" this so-called crush of hers. She told herself that every time she looked at, talked to, or even thought about Sakaki, she would place a little tally mark in the notebook. No exceptions. She walked into Yukari's homeroom and sat down, waiting for the day to begin.

By the end of the day, Kagura was a mess. She glanced at her notebook, covered in countless tally marks. And she was sure that she had missed a few as well. The minute she had sat down in class that morning, she found herself warily eyeing the door, waiting for a certain someone to come to class. Taking note, she jotted a tally mark down, telling herself that she was just anxious to see if Sakaki would show up that day, so that she could complete her experiment. When Sakaki walked into the classroom, Kagura let out a small sigh. Wait, a sigh? _"C'mon, Kagura, get it together now! Can't act like this while you're doing research!"_ the athlete scolded herself for losing focus so easily, then settled back into class, marking another two tally marks. The day continued on as usual, with Yukari releasing her fury on a sleeping Osaka, Tomo calling Yomi fat while the latter proceeded to whack Tomo with the nearest text book, and a distraught Chiyo trying to get everyone to settle down and continue the lesson. And then there was Sakaki. Kagura felt guilty for stealing a glance at the girl so frequently, and therefore having to write down a multitude of tallies. But she just couldn't help it! Sakaki looked so tranquil, so oblivious to the chaos swirling around her, as she stared out the window daydreaming as was so common of her to do. By the time lunch rolled around, Kagura had already filled three pages of the small notebook with an assortment of marks. Cursing herself silently, she went up to the roof to eat, without the rest of the gang. Right as she sat down to eat, she heard someone come up onto the roof. Quickly, she looked to see who had followed her. She froze, heart skipping a beat, almost choking on her lunch, dropping her food back into her lunchbox.

"Kagura? Are you alright?" Sakaki asked in a worried tone. She hadn't thought that she had scared Kagura that much, but her friend's reaction told the opposite.

"Who me? Yeah, of course. You just startled me!" Kagura grinned, laughing timidly. "Here, have a seat!" she continued, motioning for Sakaki to join her for lunch. Sakaki agreed, like always. She never turned down an invitation. The two settled down, and soon enough, any anxiety Kagura had before had vanished. The one-sided conversation flowed as easily as it had every night walking home together. Kagura rambled on, and Sakaki nodded, even adding comments of her own here and there. Before they knew it, lunch was over, and so was their time hanging out on the roof.

"So, see you after school then? Wanna walk home?" Kagura asked, already knowing what the answer would be, but asking anyways.

"Sure. That sounds good." Sakaki answered, polite as always. Kagura flashed her a signature grin and thumbs up, then walked back to her desk, knowing very well that she would be much too preoccupied by the events on the roof to even think about learning anything that afternoon.

Kagura lay on her bed that night after her run, looking at all the pages covered in tally marks. After lunch, the rest of her day was a blur. Even her walk home with Sakaki seemed like it was ages ago. She counted the marks for what could have been the hundredth time. And again, she stopped after the fifth page. There were just too many of them! She sighed to herself. She noticed that she had been doing that a lot lately. She seemed to be noticing a lot of things more than usual lately. Kagura may have been a jock, but that didn't make her insensitive. In fact, she was as sensitive as she was competitive. She really did care about a lot of things, and one thing had just skyrocketed to the top of her list: Sakaki. Kagura knew that what she was going through wasn't like anything that she had gone through before. And she knew she was going to have to face it eventually.


	3. Chapter 3

A few weeks had passed since Kagura first noticed her crush on Sakaki. And those few weeks hadn't lessened the feeling at all. What made matters worse was the fact that Kagura hadn't done anything about it. She hadn't tried to keep a notepad anymore; that always ended poorly. One time, Tomo had gotten hold of the notepad that Kagura had been using to keep track of her thoughts. After a flurry of insults and a series of face-pulling and punches, Kagura was able to regain possession of the notepad, much to the dismay of a certain wildcat. After that, Kagura swore that she wouldn't ever use the notepad again. One, she certainly did not want to explain its purpose to anyone else, and two, what did she need it for, anyways? She knew she liked Sakaki. That much was simple. So why try and prove it to herself when she already knew the answer? The only problem was keeping the whole situation under wraps, but Kagura thought she was doing a pretty good job of hiding it; she was able to pretty much act normal around her. Conversations were never forced, even if they were one-sided as usual. But that didn't stop her from sitting next to Sakaki at lunch, maybe a little closer than she would anyone else. It was the small things that made Kagura the happiest, and made her content to just stay by Sakaki's side, even if she craved more.

Sakaki had also had a strange past few weeks. People may have thought that she was a bit oblivious, mainly because she seemed to be constantly staring out the window in class and rarely contributed to conversation, but she was really just soaking in everything around her. She was quite observant, but did not overanalyze anything to the point over which she would obsess over it. Lately, one thing kept popping up, invading her thoughts daily. Every day without fail, she noticed Kagura doing something weird. Whether that was the brown-haired athlete staring at her in class, or sitting exceptionally close during lunch or occasionally bumping against her during their walks home, Kagura always did something that was a bit strange, even by her standards. Usually, Sakaki would just chalk it up to knucklehead behavior (that was usually the best option whenever something odd happened) but this was different. Sakaki knew that she enjoyed Kagura's company; the athlete was the only girl other than Chiyo-chan that Sakaki felt truly comfortable with, mostly because Kagura was not intimidated by her at all, and invited her everywhere. Sakaki enjoyed the invitations very much. They made her feel special and wanted, and every time Kagura asked her to do something with her, Sakaki smiled a little, excited that someone appreciated her company. Sakaki never questioned an invitation, for fear of scaring the other person off. She knew that someone like Kagura wouldn't be put off by it, but no sense in risking it, right?

Meanwhile, whilst in the middle of playing a video game, Kagura was planning how to break the news to Sakaki. She was content with where things were now, but that didn't mean she'd stay that way forever. She needed a way to see if Sakaki was interested in her too. She slammed the controller down, accidentally ripping it out of the counsel and ruining her game. But she was beyond caring. What were the chances of Sakaki actually returning her feelings? Frustrated, Kagura turned off the counsel and climbed into bed, eventually sleeping after letting her mind race. She awoke the next morning in a surly mood, still crabby from last night's revelations. She had been like this for a week now. She drudged through her morning routine, eventually stumbling out the door towards the school.

The same morning, Sakaki was walking towards the school when she noticed Kagura, with her shoulders slumped, head down, feet dragging across the pavement. Kagura, on the other hand, didn't even notice Sakaki walking alongside her. Sakaki had noticed Kagura acting down lately, and in her worry, tentatively placed a hand on Kagura's shoulder. Kagura jumped as though she had been electrocuted and burned simultaneously. Sakaki blushed immediately, feeling guilty for scaring her friend so badly.

"K-k-k-kagura! I'm so sorry." Sakaki stuttered out in a rush. She hadn't anticipated such a reaction from the athlete.

After Kagura had regained her breath, she looked back at the blushing Sakaki, blushing herself a little. "Oh, it's not a problem. You almost gave me a heart attack there!" she said, chuckling a little.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Sakaki asked again, just to make sure. She felt awful for doing that to Kagura.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Perfectly okay."

"Okay."

"Yepp."

Although it wasn't as noticeable as it was before, Kagura went back to her slouch, eyes looking away from Sakaki the whole time. Sakaki noticed, and took Kagura by the wrist, gently enough, but still firm enough to get the girl's undivided attention. Kagura blushed at the sudden, but not disliked, contact, and kept her eyes down, away from Sakaki. Sakaki knew something was up with the athlete, and was going to get her to spill.

"Kagura."

"Hmm?"

"Tell me...tell me what's wrong." Sakaki, as tough as she tried to sound, was still Sakaki. She couldn't order Kagura around. That's not who she was. She just hoped to get a point across.

"Nothing's wrong."

Another lie.

"Kagura."

Kagura turned to face Sakaki, which was probably both the best and worst thing she could have done. By facing Sakaki, she got a look into Sakaki's eyes. She stared into them, mesmerized by how beautiful they were. By locking gazes with Sakaki, Kagura remembered why she had bothered with those stupid notebooks. She remembered why she lost sleep every night. She knew what she wanted. And it was two inches from her face. However, Sakaki was also able to get a look into Kagura's eyes as well. She saw how conflicted the athlete looked, how lost she really was. She knew something was wrong, even if the girl wouldn't admit it. And Sakaki was going to get it out of her.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey readers! Quick note. First of all, thanks to all of you who have stuck with the story. I have a lot of ideas on where I want to take this, so expect a lot more to come. Secondly, thanks to those who have reviewed. Your comments have encouraged me to keep working on this. Big thanks to RedSaltire for the tips on how not to ruin the story. By request, I'll try to make chapters longer, but if there's a short chapter, I will post two chapters in the same week.**

**And with that, on to the story!**

"Kagura."

"Yeah?"

The two stood still, their eyes locked in a tense contest that neither was willing to give up. To Sakaki's surprise, it was Kagura who turned away first. The athlete bowed out of the gaze, staring at her shoes, and the pair continued walking towards the school.

"What's the matter?"

Kagura knew there was really no point in denying it anymore. Sakaki wasn't about to give up on this, and Kagura was going to let Sakaki have her way whenever she wanted to. She cursed herself for giving in so easily, and sheepishly looked up to Sakaki, ready to try and whatever damage control she could manage.

"Don't worry about it, Sakaki. I'm just tried, that's all. Been preparing for a big meet coming up."

It wasn't a full lie; Kagura had been running a lot lately. But not because she was training for a meet.

"Oh. When's that?"

Sakaki knew very well that Kagura was lying. She saw it in her face. Now she just had to flush that lie out.

"Oh, you know, just coming up in the next few weeks."

"I see. Maybe we can talk about it over lunch?"

_Woah. Did Sakaki just ask me? To lunch?_ Kagura thought quickly. She hadn't even noticed that they had just arrived at the school, and that their conversation would have to be cut short. But still. Sakaki? Extending an invitation?

"Hey now! That's supposed to be my line!" Kagura laughed, rubbing the back of her head and flashing a large, genuine grin that Sakaki hadn't seen in weeks. "But of course. Lunch on the rooftop, then?"

"Sure."

Lunch came both too quickly and too slowly for Kagura. She wanted to spend some time alone with Sakaki. She always wanted that. But she knew that she wasn't going to be able to lie to her forever. Today was the big day. And Kagura wasn't even remotely prepared for it. The whole morning was spent trying to figure out what was the best way to tell her was. There were too many options! _I guess I'll just have to be upfront about it, _Kagura decided. _No use beating around the bush. That's what would be fair to her._ As she decided on that, the bell rang, making Kagura jump about fifty feet in the air. She scrambled to regain her composure, as well as her study materials that had gone flying around her desk. Once she had packed up all her things, she hurried out of the classroom, only to run smack into Sakaki, face first into Sakaki's rather large chest. Kagura's face erupted into a ferocious blush, and she spewed out a flurry of apologies as she backed away from an equally red faced Sakaki.

"Let's...head up to the roof...o-o-okay?" Kagura suggested, still flustered from recent events

"Okay."

The two took their food up to the roof and sat in their usual spot. As much as she wanted to sit closer to her, Kagura kept her distance, still embarrassed about their little mishap. They ate silently for a while, only the sounds of chopsticks scrapping lunch boxes filling the air. When they had both finished, they sat in the silence, neither one sure what to say exactly.

"So...nice day, huh?" Kagura stated, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

_Dammit Kagura! That's all you could think of? That's so stupid! You could have complimented her, or, or, or something else than talking about the stupid weather! Jeez. Think now. Stay focused. Get it together._

While Kagura chewed herself out, Sakaki had responded, but when Kagura didn't say anything back, Sakaki looked at her, seeing the concentration on her face. She wanted to snap Kagura out of this funk she was in. She just didn't know exactly how. She slowly reached out, gently placing her hand on Kagura's.

Kagura froze. The gears in her mind stopped, and everything seemed to stand still. Sakaki's soft hand rested on top of Kagura's tightly clenched fist. She did the only thing she could do; she looked up at Sakaki. Bad idea. She locked eyes with her crush, and tensed even more, if possible. She felt like Sakaki was seeing right into her, knowing everything that Kagura had gone through lately. Kagura felt like she knew about the notebook, the lies she told, the trouble she went through to keep her secret safe.

"Kagura?"

"Y-y-yeah?"

_Damn. More stuttering. C'mon now. This is your moment. Your time._

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong."

Sakaki looked at her skeptically, which, to Kagura, was an incredibly cute look on her. There was no way she could lie to Sakaki anymore. Time to get on with it.

"Okay, okay. Maybe something's a little wrong. But it's not that big of a deal really. Don't worry about it." She said, laughing it off with the hopes that Sakaki would just drop it.

"Oh."

Sakaki removed her hand from Kagura's. She was a little disappointed. She wanted Kagura to trust her like she trusted Kagura. She felt like Kagura was afraid to talk to her.

Kagura knew she was losing. One, Sakaki just let go of her hand. Kagura was tempted to grab it right back, to lace their fingers together and explain everything to her. But now was not the time. Secondly, Sakaki looked sad. No, she looked downright disappointed. Her gaze dropped away from Kagura's as she mumbled something incoherent under her breath. Kagura thought it sounded vaguely like, "you can trust me."

She could trust Sakaki.

"Well, I mean, if it's not too much trouble...you wouldn't mind?" Kagura asked. The situation could still saved. Maybe she didn't have to straight out tell Sakaki now. Test the waters a bit. See what Sakaki was into.

Sakaki went from distraught to delighted as fast as a racecar goes from 0 to 60. Unlike Kagura, she was able to keep this transition mostly under control, with no visible change except for how she beamed at Kagura.

"Not at all."

"Well...there's...there's...there is someone that I...I, well, what I mean to say is I guess I've finally found someone that's caught my eye."

Sakaki just nodded, encouraging Kagura to go on. It wasn't what she was expecting, but then again, she had just expected Kagura to be stressed over something sports-related. She found it kind of silly that the indomitable Kagura became so flustered over something so little as a crush.

"And, and...well, I don't really know what to do about it."

"Have you tried talking to them?"

"Well, yeah. I talk to them a lot actually."

"I meant about how you feel."

"...well, of course not!"

"Well, you're not going to get anywhere by not telling them."

"I know."

The two sat in silence for a bit before Sakaki started conversation again.

"So...who is it?"

"Huh?"

"Who is it?"

"Oh, ha, well I guess that's the secret, isn't it?"

_Argh! Stupid, stupid, stupid! That was your cue! Way to ruin the moment, Kagura._

"You can trust me."

Kagura stared at Sakaki. No time like the present, right? She took a deep breath, prepping herself like she did before a race.

"It's...it's...you."


	5. Chapter 5

It all happened at once. Kagura slid over to Sakaki, almost right onto her lap. She reached up suddenly, gently cupping Sakaki's face and tilting it towards her own. She pressed her lips against Sakaki's, feeling her blush due to the sudden contact. She leaned into Sakaki, cherishing every point of contact, and yet craving more. In reality, the moment passed rather quickly, only a few seconds. But to Kagura, each second was an eternity. Every nerve in her body was firing on all cylinders. She squeezed her eyes shut so tightly that she saw sparks. She could feel every movement Sakaki made, and those that she didn't. Kagura came to realize that after the initial shock, Sakaki hadn't moved an inch. She didn't press back into the kiss, nor did she move her hands up to keep Kagura from pulling back.

All of the confidence that Kagura had going into that moment vanished instantly. She pulled back from Sakaki, leaving a considerable amount of space between the two girls, much more than there had been before. She stared intently at the floor, afraid to face Sakaki. Meanwhile, the tall girl stayed frozen in place, a bright blush covering her face entirely. She tentatively raised a hand to her lips, dusting her fingers over them lightly, trying to gather her thoughts. The silence was brutal, screaming at both girls to say something, anything to break the layer of tension that had developed. A single tear dropped from Kagura's eyes, and splattered onto the roof. Finally, she looked back up to Sakaki, still immobile.

"I...I..." the girl stuttered, choking on words. She stood up and set off at a full sprint towards the doors, throwing them open with enough violent force to knock the hinges loose, leaving a still-stunned Sakaki to sit alone on the roof.

Kagura did not return to class that afternoon. She bolted down the halls of the school, running into countless students and teachers, finally tearing out the doors of the building and out onto the street. But she didn't stop there. The athlete did what she was meant to do; run. She ran down the road and didn't look back. Training was the only thing Kagura knew. Going back to class wasn't an option. She'd have to face Sakaki there.

Sakaki.

The girl that Kagura had finally come to know and love, and yet, it didn't work out.

_I should have known it. Why did I think this would end up being some fake ass fairy tale ending? It was such a long shot, why did I even bother? Sakaki? I was fooling myself. And c'mon, why would she like me? I'm a knucklehead that can swim. Well, I guess this is a good thing. Nothing to distract me from training now. At least I can trust in something..._

She ran. And didn't stop until she collapsed on a park bench far from home, far enough to where no one would recognize her. Far enough to where she didn't even know where she was.

Sakaki sat on the roof of the school until lunch ended, then walked silently back to the busy classroom. She returned to her seat and immediately started staring out the window, lost in her thoughts. Kagura...had a crush...on her? She blushed at the thought. She started putting pieces of the puzzle together; the odd reactions to whenever she had touched her, Kagura always wanting to sit next to her, her secretive manner over the past few weeks...it all made sense. Kagura's feelings were now totally clear to her. But what about her own feelings? Sakaki had never considered another girl as a dating option, and she certainly hadn't thought of Kagura as a choice. But then again, no one in particular had ever caught her attention. And she did truly care for Kagura. Sakaki carefully considered her own actions. She took note of all the times that she had touched or grabbed Kagura, when a simple word would have sufficed. She realized just how much she enjoyed Kagura's presence. And she knew that she would never turn down an invitation from her. Ever. But did that add up to the same thing that Kagura felt for her? Sakaki wandered in her thoughts as she kept absent-mindedly raising her fingers to her lips, ghosting the tips over them gently, still figuring out what had transpired on the rooftop.


	6. Chapter 6

Kagura sat on the bench, totally unaware of all that was going on around her. The busy people hurrying by her, cars honking, cell phones ringing...none of the sounds of the city even reached her ears. She sat there, staring at the dirt under her sneakers as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. She didn't cry. No, she wouldn't do that. She should have been an emotional car wreck; confused, upset, hopeless, depressed, betrayed. And yet, she found herself unable to care. She knew she should be feeling those things, but they had no effect. She had gone absolutely numb. She took out her cell phone to check the time, ignoring about a dozen missed calls and text messages from the rest of the gang. 9:53 pm. Was it that late already? Kagura thought she should maybe try and head home. As much as she didn't feel like moving, she didn't want to worry her parents too much. She heaved herself up from the bench, taking an enormous effort on her part, and began walking. Unfortunately, her rash behavior landed her in a part of town that she had never been to before. It didn't take long for her to realize that she was lost.

Kagura wasn't stupid. She knew she had to get home somehow. But she couldn't call one of the gang; hell, she didn't even know what to tell them, let alone ask them how to get home from a place that she didn't even know herself. She couldn't call her parents; they'd be furious with her for being out this far this late. Her best bet was to find a station, or maybe a restaurant to get her bearings, then head out from there. She wandered the streets until she found a relatively friendly-looking cafe. She stepped inside, scanning for a waiter or waitress that she could ask for directions. She walked towards the front counter, not paying attention to where she was walking, until she ran into the lady paying at the counter. Kagura stepped back, bowing and apologizing, until she heard the other woman speak.

"Kagura? What are you doing way out here? And this late, too?" Ms. Kurosawa asked, shocked to see her student.

"Coach! Oh man, it sure is a good thing I ran into you!" Kagura said, obviously relieved. Ms. Kurosawa would help her get home.

"You didn't answer my question. What are you doing out here?"

"You see, Coach, I kinda got lost on my run today. I actually have no idea where I am. Could you tell me how to get to a station around here?"

Not a lie at all. Just not the full truth. Coach didn't need to know about what had all happened today.

"You ran all the way here?" Nyamo looked over her student. She was still dressed in her school uniform. There was no way she was just out for a training run. "That's awfully far."

"I got carried away, I guess."

"Well, I'm just about to head home, actually. I drove myself here. I could swing through your neighborhood and drop you off, if you'd like."

"Really? That'd be great! Thanks Coach."

The two walked out of the cafe. Nyamo knew something was up with Kagura. She had been noticing it in the girl's behavior for the past month or so. She wasn't the focused, training-obsessed girl that used to come to swim practice early and leave late anymore. She seemed preoccupied with something else. Nyamo knew it wasn't school-related; Kagura's grades, although poor, had not drastically changed lately. Maybe she had finally burned out of swimming? Nyamo certainly hoped not; Kagura was naturally gifted, and had a lot of talent. Kagura had run quite a ways, and in her school uniform too. Nyamo also remembered Kagura not being in gym that afternoon. So why was the girl all the way out here, dressed as if she had been at school? Nyamo started putting the pieces together, realizing that something must of had happened earlier today to make Kagura snap and leave school. Must've been pretty bad for her to run all the way out here. She hoped that she could maybe help the girl on the ride home. It was about a fifteen minute walk to the car, plus a twenty minute ride back home. That gave her time to talk to the athlete.

"So...mind telling me what happened at school today that you weren't in my gym class this afternoon?"

Nyamo knew that the only way to get a straight answer out of the athlete was to directly ask her a question. No need to ease her way into it. Kagura on the other hand, stopped dead in her tracks and gawked at her coach, astounded at her comment. _Shit! How did she know?_

"Wha-what do you mean? I wasn't at school today."

"Kagura, you're wearing your uniform."

"Oh."

_Well shit. So much for that._

"Kagura. What happened? I know that you had to of run straight here after you left school. We're a long way from there. Something must of upset you if you ran all the way here."

No response.

"Look, I've noticed that you've been a little...distracted lately. You don't have the same drive and focus at practice that you used to. I've seen it for a month now. Is there something going on? Grades? Friend troubles?"

They reached Nyamo's car and got in, buy Nyamo did not start the engine. The two sat in silence until Kagura finally gave in a little.

"There was just a...misunderstanding. That's all."

"Between?"

"A friend and myself."

"It had to be more than a little misunderstanding to cause you to run out of school like that. You're tough, Kagura. Resilient. You don't break down easily, which is an amazing trait to have. Please, let me help you. You can trust me."

Trust? That stupid word again. That's what Sakaki had said, and look where it ended up.

"No offense, Coach, but I can't see myself trusting anyone for a while."

With that, Nyamo started the car and began driving home. Something big had gone down. And as much as she didn't want to pry, she knew Kagura was going to suffer until she talked to someone about it. The pair continued their drive, and Nyamo tried to pick up conversation again.

"So, uh...what was the mishap about?"

"Nothing. Something stupid."

"That's probably not true."

"Sure it is. Hey, did you catch the Bulls game last night? Deng put up some big numbers and boards, didn't he?"

"Kagura, we're talking about you. Not the basketball game. Don't change the subject."

"Damn. How'd you catch that? Sorry Coach."

"It's okay. But listen. I know I don't have the full story here, and I don't need to know it if you don't want me to. But hear me out, okay?" She looked to her athlete, making sure she had her attention before continuing. "Trust is a funny thing. You may feel like you can't trust your friend right now for whatever reason, but whenever you feel like your trust has been betrayed, you can count on the other person feeling just as bad as you do, if not worse. While having your trust broken is awful, it's even more painful to break someone else's, especially someone you care about. Maybe you just need a break. Take time for yourself, let yourself heal. Then talk to them. One argument isn't enough to break a friendship. I mean, take me and Yukari for example. Sure, she's a handful. But we always take care of each other. Do you understand?"

Kagura looked up her coach, significantly less upset than she had been.

"I do."

The pulled up to Kagura's house, where she got out of the car with a thanks and a wave.

"Oh, and Kagura?"

"Yeah Coach?"

"Deng may have had a good night, but Rose is still better."


	7. Chapter 7

A few weeks had passed since that day. And Kagura was getting better. She stayed more focused during swim practice and training, and her grades even managed to improve, if only slightly. She was slowly getting back to normal. Or, at least, she was at school. When she got home from school, every day she would run, even though she had just come from practice. She ran far, and she ran hard. Her parents worried that she would hurt herself if she continued to overdo it like she had been, but Kagura wasn't concerned. Not in the least. The fact was, as much as she hated to admit it to herself, she was still in love with Sakaki, and nothing was going to change that any time soon. Her runs gave her an escape, a way to put everything behind her. They were her way of dealing. One night, while out on a particularly tough run, Kagura decided to change her route up a bit by running through the park. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom, leaving a sweet scent to hang in the air. Unintentionally, Kagura slowed down to a walk, admiring the flowers. She wandered to the side of the trail to get a better look at the blossoms. She was so captivated by the flowers that she failed to notice the figure sitting under the tree right next to her. The voice called out, soft enough to the point that Kagura almost couldn't hear it, but the words didn't matter. It was the voice that she recognized.

"Hey, Kagura."

Kagura snapped to attention. She knew that voice. She hadn't talked to that person in weeks. Why here? Why now? It couldn't be happening. Not right now. Kagura had half a mind to turn and sprint, to go as fast as her legs would carry her, to get the hell out of that park as soon as possible. But she couldn't do it.

Not when Sakaki was sitting there, less than 20 feet away, waving to her.

She looked peaceful, almost cheerful, sitting alone under a blossoming branch, flowers dancing in the wind around her. Kagura couldn't help but note how beautiful she looked.

"Hey."

Her speech was dull, flat. She didn't mean to. She was just trying to figure everything out. She wanted to be mad at her. But it was Sakaki. And Kagura wanted to make her the happiest girl alive. She wanted to sit with her under the tree and enjoy the evening, to just sit in each other's company. The hurt, distrustful part of Kagura slipped out this time, and it made Sakaki flinch. She hadn't forgotten that day either. And she certainly did not forget how Kagura had stopped talking to her and inviting her to walk home.

"Do you, uh, want to sit...with me?" Sakaki asked, trying to make the situation less tense.

"Umm...I should actually probably get going, actually. I'm missing out on my training."

Kagura didn't want to say no. She knew Sakaki was nervous. She could tell from the blush bridging her nose. But she was still afraid. Still hurt. She thought she was healing, learning to trust again. But then this happened, and the stitches holding together Kagura's pride and trust were ripped apart again.

"Oh. But you train so hard. Why not...why not take a break?"

Silence. Then...

"I guess...that would be okay."

Kagura warily tread over to Sakaki. Sakaki, on the other hand, thought Kagura looked very much like a shy kitten. She couldn't help but blush, thinking of the adorable image in her head. But she also felt awful, realizing that it was all her fault that Kagura was acting like this. She had broken her trust; no, she had shattered it. Kagura came to her with something important. Really important. And even if she couldn't return her feelings, she could have at least been more supportive. She should have said something to keep her from running out of school. But then again, would it really be that hard to return those feelings?

Kagura took a seat beside Sakaki and leaned back against the tree trunk, knitting her fingers behind her head and relaxing.

"So...uh, you like cherry blossoms?"

_Good lord. This is starting off just like last time. And we all know where that went. Cut the crap and talk about something you want to talk about._

"I do. They're pretty. Don't you?"

"Yeah, they're nice I guess."

The two sat, looking at the flowers for a bit before Sakaki started up the conversation again.

"So, how's training going?"

"Alright."

"Any meets coming up?"

"A few."

"I see."

Conversation died down again as the tension rose. This time, Kagura spoke first.

"How've you been?"

"Just fine. You?"

"I'm getting by alright."

The strain between the two hung in the hair, refusing to release even a little. It wasn't going to get any better until one of them addressed what had happened on the rooftop. Thankfully, Sakaki stepped up.

"You know, Kagura, I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

"Yeah? What's that?"

Sakaki ignored Kagura's somewhat rude response. She guessed she deserved it, after all.

"I wanted to talk to you about...what happened a few weeks ago. On the rooftop."

She paused, giving Kagura a chance to respond. When she didn't, she wasn't surprised. Instead, she continued.

"I just...I wanted to say...that...that I'm sorry."

This got a little bit of a rise out of Kagura. The chocolate-eyed athlete turned to face Sakaki for the first time in weeks.

"You are?"

"Yes."

The two locked gazes. Sakaki saw the fear, the distrust in Kagura's eyes. She knew that Kagura was still upset about the whole incident. But she knew that if she didn't say what she was going to say now, she'd never say it. Kagura saw the uneasiness, the bashfulness that Sakaki was notorious for in her deep grey eyes. She knew she had more to say, but Sakaki had frozen.

"Anything else?" Kagura said, baiting Sakaki for more. And Sakaki took the lead gratefully, continuing on.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to support you. I was wrong by not responding at all. I should have said something at the time. I suppose it is too late for that now. So, again, I'm sorry."

They remained in their staring contest, both trying to figure who would make the next move. Kagura spoke up first.

"It's...it's okay. I forgive you."

Both girls visibly relaxed. Sakaki was so relieved that she looked like she was going to faint for a second before her gaze became serious again. Kagura noticed and shot Sakaki a quizzical look, which prodded Sakaki to continue talking.

"There's also something else."

"Yeah?"

"I...I...I mean, just listen to me. Don't say or do anything until I'm done, okay?" Sakaki pleaded, so nervous that her entire face was a bright red and she shook a bit. Kagura nodded, ready to hear Sakaki out. Sakaki looked down, away from Kagura as she began.

"I know I acted a little strange on the roof that day. And I know...I know what you want now. It was sitting in front of me the whole time and I didn't notice. So I apologize again." Sakaki continued to stare at the ground, tugging at her sleeves. "But I've been thinking about that day a lot. And going over my actions as well. I want you to know that I do care about you Kagura. I trust you." She bit her lip, still obviously nervous. "I've been confessed to a few times...but none of them had the impact on me that yours did." Sakaki started gaining confidence, no longer fidgeting. "I don't know what I want. Not yet. And I probably won't for a while. But I suppose...I mean, I guess what I'm trying to say is..." Sakaki looked up at Kagura, "I'm willing to give it a shot, if you're willing to be patient with me."

Sakaki finished strong, by looking straight into Kagura's eyes. She saw the hope that flickered there. Then the careful consideration, then a resolution.

"Sure." Kagura answered with a smile.

Sakaki was stunned, as if she had just been slapped in the face. She just poured out her heart to Kagura and all she answered with was, sure? Kagura laughed at Sakaki, the astonished look her friend's face amusing her, since it contrasted wildly with the tall girl's usually stoic demeanor.

"Sakaki, I would love to make this work. I won't lie, I'm going to do everything in my power to put this in my favor. But seriously, I'm honored that you trust me enough to come to me with this. I'm ready to be there for you when you need it and support whatever you decide is best for you. "

"You...you really mean it?"

"Damn straight."

Sakaki just smiled and scooted over to Kagura, close enough for Kagura to lean against her, and soon the two of them were sitting under the tree, talking like always, just enjoying their evening together.


	8. Chapter 8

The next few weeks of Kagura's were spent in pure bliss. Her and Sakaki weren't necessarily officially together; they acted like they normally would. But they spent a lot of time together, much to Kagura's pleasure. They continued to hang out with the rest of the girls on the weekends, but they always made sure to have at least one time a week where they would spend time alone. It was those times Kagura cherished most. She did not push Sakaki into anything; she let her make all the first moves. Which, unfortunately, Sakaki never did. Kagura thought she realized just how shy and bashful Sakaki could be, and knew that she was still probably very nervous.

Kagura wanted to change this.

"Hey, Sakaki!" Kagura called Sakaki one night. The rest of the group was busy with other things like homework and family stuff, leaving only Sakaki available.

"Yes? Hello Kagura."

"Whatcha up to tonight? Wanna catch a movie?"

"Sure, sounds fun."

"Great! I'll pick you up in thirty then?"

" Yeah, see you then."

Sakaki was a little flustered. She knew it was just a movie. Movies were dark. She wouldn't have to dress too nicely, would she? Then again, she did want to impress Kagura. And even more, this was their first real date. Sure, they had gone to the park and hung out on the roof at school, but how would this work out? Was Kagura going to pay for them both? What about afterwards? She pulled on a pair on dark jeans, and found a clean, snuggly fitting V-neck, along with a jacket. She was ready with a minute to spare.

Exactly a minute later, Sakaki's doorbell rang. She ran to answer it, surprised by her own eagerness. She opened the door and there stood Kagura, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. She had also dressed up a bit for the occasion, wearing jeans instead of sweatpants. She also wore a lightweight, tight-fitting track jacket. Overall, she hadn't done much. But Sakaki still blushed at the sight of her. Kagura noticed Sakaki's blush, and returned it by going pink-faced as well.

"Well? Should we head out then?"

"Sure. Let's go."

The two began the trek to the theater. Once out of eyeshot from Sakaki's house, Kagura stopped her.

"Hey, uh, Sakaki?"

"Yes?"

"I just...I wanted to let you know, that, uh, you look really pretty tonight."

_Nicely done, genius. That couldn't have gone any better. Pretty? Try beautiful, gorgeous, striking...you know, an actual word?_

Sakaki noticed how nervous the athlete looked. She knew Kagura was trying to pay her a compliment. She thought it was kind of cute how mixed up she got.

"Thank you, Kagura. You look really pretty too." Sakaki said mockingly, subtly making fun of the athlete.

That made Kagura laugh, releasing the tension.

"I guess I kinda deserved that one." Kagura turned and faced Sakaki. "Let me try again. Sakaki, you look stunning tonight."

This took Sakaki by surprise. The tall girl's face went a deep shade of pink as she stuttered out a thank you. The two started walking again.

A little ways before they got there, though, Kagura stopped Sakaki again.

"Here you go."

Kagura handed Sakaki some money, enough to get into the movie. She looked at Sakaki anxiously.

"I...I wanted to pay for you anyways, but I didn't know if it would have been suspicious for me to pay for us both at the ticket booth. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"Thank you, Kagura. But I don't need this. Really."

Sakaki tried to hand the money back to Kagura, but she wouldn't take it.

"No way. My idea, my treat."

Sakaki knew that this conversation was over, and stuffed the money in her pocket. They got to the movie, paid, and went inside. Neither one got anything from the concession stand, so they sat patiently until the movie started. But even then, Sakaki didn't pay much attention to the movie. She kept stealing nervous glances at Kagura to see if she was enjoying the movie. Kagura had allowed her to choose the movie, and she was nervous that she had picked one that would bore the action-loving Kagura. Kagura, on the other hand, was actually trying to watch the movie. She didn't want to disappoint her by falling asleep. Sure, it wasn't her first choice of a movie, but she tried her best to look engrossed in the film. But eventually, even Kagura couldn't keep up the facade. The movie couldn't hold her interest any longer, especially with Sakaki sitting so near. Kagura didn't know what Sakaki would think of going out together in public. But since she had no objections about going out, she wouldn't mind holding hands, right? This was meant to be their first date. Besides, it was dark. No one else would know. Kagura looked at Sakaki's hand on the armrest. Slowly, tentatively, Kagura reached over, taking Sakaki's hand and intertwining their fingers together.

Sakaki's heart started beating rapidly as she began to panic. She tensed up instantly, very aware of the rest of the people in theater, and mostly of Kagura. Kagura noticed Sakaki's reaction and sighed to herself a bit. She knew that she would have to be patient with Sakaki. Very patient. But she wasn't expecting her to go into a full-blown panic attack when she held her hand. Reluctantly, Kagura let go. Sakaki felt bad. She knew that she had just disappointed Kagura, and felt bad for it. Holding hands wasn't so tough, was it? She cursed her shyness, then hardened her resolve. She took Kagura's hand back into hers, lacing their fingers together as they had been previously. Kagura looked over at the determined Sakaki, who had her eyes glued to the screen, obviously embarrassed by her earlier actions. Kagura chuckled and relaxed, hoping Sakaki would do the same. Eventually, she did, and the couple enjoyed the rest of the movie.

The movie ended too quickly for the girls, as they let go of each other before exiting the dark room. The two started to walk with no destination in mind. Suddenly, Sakaki saw an ice cream stand.

"You want some ice cream?"

"Is that even a question? Race you there!" Kagura yelled as she took off at a full sprint towards the stand. Sakaki giggled a bit to herself, expecting that exact reaction out of the athlete. She jogged over, meeting Kagura there.

"You didn't even try!"

"I wasn't ready for it."

"Well, I would say loser pays, but since you weren't ready, I'll get this one too, okay?"

"No, that's alright."

"C'mon Sakaki!"

"No. My idea, my treat."

Sakaki smiled at Kagura while the latter put on a mean pout that was offset by the sparkle in her eyes, as she accepted defeated by her own line.

"What kind of ice cream do you like?"

"Hmmm. I'll get cookies and cream. How about you?"

"I think I'll get the mint chocolate chip."

"Oh man, that sounds good too! What do I want to get now?"

"You get the cookies and cream. You can try some of mine."

"You're the best!"

The girls got their ice cream and sat down at the nearest park bench. Kagura made it a race, like always, and finished hers quickly, while Sakaki took her time and savored the cold treat.

"Hey, Sakaki, mind if I try a bit of that?"

"Not at all."

Sakaki held out the cone to Kagura, who went to take a bite out of the cone. However, she leaned in a little too far, getting the green ice cream all over her face. She also managed to knock an entire scoop off of Sakaki's cone and onto her lap. The frozen snack landed with a plop, splattering all over Sakaki's pants and jacket.

"Ah shit! Sorry Sakaki!" Kagura said as she rushed to find napkins. Sakaki looked at the girl, frantically running around to all the vendors, gathering napkins from each. She laughed at how ridiculous she looked, noticing that the ice cream was still smeared all over her tan face.

She could get used to having Kagura around for a very long time.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Quick note, then back to the story. First off, thanks to those who have stuck around to see the story progress. Big thanks to those who have reviewed. These next two chapters are somewhat short, so I'm just putting them both up now. Updates might start coming up faster, with the end of the semester fast approaching. Well, as far as I can tell, that's all. As always, praise and constructive criticism are always welcome, so if you like it, say it, if you think something seems a tad off, say it as well. Now back to the story!**

Things continued to go well between Kagura and Sakaki after that first date, although their relationship continued to move forward at snail's pace for a number of reasons. One, Kagura didn't want to scare Sakaki off. She knew that Sakaki was still trying to grasp everything that had been happening lately, and she wanted Sakaki to not feel pressured into anything. Two, Sakaki was too damn bashful for her own good. Every day she found herself more comfortable with Kagura and their relationship. But she never did anything about it. She caught herself wanting to tell Kagura how beautiful she was, or to reach out and hold her hand, but she was too shy to do anything about it. Three, now that Kagura was sure everything was going smoothly with Sakaki, she put a lot more time into training. While it cut into their time together, Kagura still had a passion for swimming and running. Sakaki understood this, and didn't mind. It gave her time to do her own work, and Kagura was always in a better mood after a good run.

There was a big meet coming up in the next couple of weeks. Which meant longer, faster, tougher runs for Kagura. She had always pushed herself to get to the next level. She could remain focused for a longer period of time than she had ever been able to before. Then again, it helped that she had been feeling like she was on top of the world ever since that talk with Sakaki. Everything was going perfectly.

Except for that pain in her foot.

Kagura had been noticing it for a few months now. It particularly started right after the meeting on the rooftop. Every time she began a run, it would begin to ache, working its way up into her ankle and shin, starting earlier each time she ran. Kagura ignored the pain, continuing to run anyways, telling herself that it was nothing. After her runs, her foot and ankle would swell up, and the pain would take longer and longer to subside. Kagura chalked it up to overuse, slapped some ice on it, and called it a night. The next day she'd totally forget about the night before and run on it anyways, feeling the dull throb turn into a searing pain as she continued to push herself.

There weren't too many days left before the meet. And Kagura's foot was worse than ever. It had gotten so bad that the athlete had began to walk gingerly, with a subtle limp that wouldn't be caught by Coach. However, that didn't mean that someone else wouldn't notice.

Kagura had just finished her 3 mile on the track. And her foot was killing her. She hobbled into the locker room to change and go home, where hopefully there would be enough ice for her to cover her foot in. Before she could even get to her locker, she was greeted by another woman in the room.

"Why are you limping?"

Well, maybe not greeted. Sakaki stared at the athlete. Although it didn't show up much on her face, her tone gave away how worried she was. There was even a tinge of scolding in the statement.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you running."

"Just got a bit of a sore muscle. That's all."

Sakaki continued to stare at Kagura, who broke down a lot faster than she had wanted to. Sakaki motioned for the athlete to sit next to her on the bench. Kagura tried her best to put up a strong front as she walked over to Sakaki, but she only made it so far before she succumbed to the pain and began to limp slightly.

"Not limping?"

"Shut it."

"Let me see it."

"Excuse me?"

Kagura looked at Sakaki, who had a serious look on her face. She repeated herself, asking Kagura to remove her shoe so she could get a better look at it. Kagura obliged, gingerly taking off the training sneaker and extending her foot out to Sakaki. Sakaki took a good look at Kagura's injured foot, delicately taking it her hands and noticing the considerable swelling, especially around the ankle.

"When did this start?"

"I don't know."

"You don't remember?"

"I fight through it."

"I wish you wouldn't."

Kagura glanced up at Sakaki, who was still focused on her swollen ankle.

"What do you mean? You don't want me to compete anymore?"

"No, that's not it."

"Then what?"

"I wish you would take a break. This isn't good for you."

"Sakaki, there's a big meet...OUCH! Fucking...mother...son of a..."

Kagura pulled back and clutched at her foot, using every foul word in her arsenal. Sakaki had prodded a particularly sensitive spot a little too harshly.

"Kagura!"

"Sorry, but jeez, that fucking hurt!"

"It looks like just an overuse injury."

"What?"

"Let me explain it to you."

And Sakaki scooted over next to Kagura, taking her foot back in her hands, and traced the outlines of where the injury probably was on Kagura's foot, sending Kagura into a fit of shivers and goose bumps. Sakaki continued to explain what was wrong with Kagura's foot, but the athlete had long since stopped listening. She stared at Sakaki, taking in every detail of her gentle face. She slowly reached up and stroked Sakaki's long, dark hair. Sakaki stopped talking, realizing that Kagura was no longer paying attention. She met Kagura's gaze, while the athlete played idly with a strand of Sakaki's hair. Both smiled at each other, and Kagura let go of the strand. Sakaki had long since let go of the foot, and the two girls remained seated on the bench, locked in a staring contest. Kagura reached back up, this time slowly brushing a strand of hair out of Sakaki's face, leaving her hand to linger there, lightly brushing Sakaki's face with her fingertips. Sakaki took Kagura's hand in hers, surprised by her own boldness. She never imagined being the one to reach out first, to take Kagura's hand before Kagura took hers.

"Will you take it easy?"

"You know I can't do that. The meet..."

"For...for me? Just until the meet."

Sakaki gave Kagura her best puppy eyes. And Kagura just melted.

"Ahhhhh...fine! You win this time, Sakaki."

Sakaki smiled, her job done. She wanted Kagura to be able to compete. She became lost in her thoughts until Kagura squeezed her hand, bringing her back to reality.

"Sakaki...?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm still a little shaky...do you think you could walk me home? For support?"

"Of course."


	10. Chapter 10

As much as it killed her to do so, Kagura took the rest of the week plus a few days off. Sakaki had "hinted" to Coach Kurosawa to watch Kagura at practice very closely. Nyamo of course then noticed Kagura's limp, and sat her down, scolding her for continuing to train on an injury.

"C'mon Coach! You know I've gotta train. Scouts will be there!"

"And what good will it do you to get recruited if you can't compete anyways?"

Kagura put on a vicious pout, folding her arms across her chest and sticking her lower lip out as far as it would go. She grumbled incoherently, no doubt cursing Sakaki for going to the big guns to keep her out of practice.

"Besides, I'm just keeping you out for now. You can run in the meet."

At this, Kagura lightened up considerably.

"You better let me run! You wanna show me off, huh?" Kagura said with her usual cocky tone.

"So modest..."

"Modest is my middle name, Coach! And don't you forget it!" Kagura said as she walked out of Nyamo's office, getting ready to meet Sakaki to walk home. The two met up outside of the locker room and began the walk home.

"Hey Kagura, do you have a lot of homework to do tonight?"

"Really Sakaki? You haven't figured out that I don't do homework? Ever?"

"It was just a question."

"My bad. What's up?"

"I was thinking...maybe you'd want to come over? To my house?"

Kagura was shocked. She had been so focused on training that she had forgotten all about trying to bust Sakaki's bashful bubble. And here she was, inviting her to come over to her house!

"Sure! Let's go!"

Kagura was ready to take off at a full sprint, but Sakaki grabbed her arm right before she could get loose.

"Your foot."

Kagura began to complain, then realization struck her.

"Hey!"

Sakaki looked at Kagura, knowing very well what the athlete had just figured out. She didn't regret telling Nyamo about Kagura's injury at all. She knew it was the only way to keep Kagura from practicing and potentially hurting herself even more.

"You sneaky...sneaky..." Kagura glared at Sakaki, trying to be upset with her, but failing. "Ah whatever. Let's just go to your house." Kagura said, extending a hand out to Sakaki. She hesitated, looking around to see if she recognized anyone. Thankfully, Kagura wasn't paying attention. It probably would have hurt the athlete's feelings. Sakaki carefully reached out and took it, and the couple walked down the street towards Sakaki's home.

They reached Sakaki's house and Sakaki unlocked the front door, allowing Kagura to enter first. It was a nice house; not extensively large like Chiyo's, but still spacious. Kagura also noted that the house was empty. Which meant that they were there alone. Sakaki led her upstairs to where Kagura assumed Sakaki's room was. She guessed correctly. Sakaki opened the door and revealed a room full of plushies, from dogs to cats to every animal imaginable. Kagura scanned the room in awe, dumbstruck by the sheer number of dolls in the room. Sakaki sat Kagura down at her desk.

"Wait here."

She let go of Kagura's hand and stepped out to leave the room. Quickly, she poked her head back inside.

"Close your eyes."

Kagura obeyed, but started to get anxious.

_What the hell is up with Sakaki? Did she plan this? I bet it was just to get me to stop being mad at her for ratting me out to Coach...but then again, seeing where this could go, maybe I'll be able to forgive her..._

Kagura heard the door reopen and close, and something fall on the desk in front of her with a loud thud.

"Open your eyes."

Kagura looked at what was on the desk.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

There sat a pile of notebooks and textbooks, stacked high in front of Kagura.

"Time to get to work!"

Kagura shot Sakaki a look that would have made anyone else pale in terror. Sakaki, on the other hand, sat down next to Kagura and opened a textbook, ignoring the icy glare being sent her way. Kagura eventually let it go and got to work. Sakaki ended up having to explain a lot to her, but she knew she was picking it up slowly.

"So there are three types of true tissues; the endoderm, ectoderm, and mesoderm?" Kagura said questioningly, looking at Sakaki for confirmation.

"That's it. Now you've got it!" Sakaki said proudly, beaming at Kagura. She reached out and ruffled Kagura's hair, smiling as she did so. Kagura just chuckled as she patted down her brown spikes that had been all messed up by Sakaki. She leaned onto Sakaki's shoulder and looked up at her.

"Can we take a break from studying? I'm hungry."

"Okay. Only if you can tell me which one of the tissue types forms the skin."

"Sakaki!"

"Just kidding. Let's go."


	11. Chapter 11

The next week followed the same kind of pattern. Since Kagura wasn't allowed to practice until the day before the meet, she and Sakaki would go over to Sakaki's house every day after school, where Sakaki forced Kagura to do her homework. Kagura didn't care for this much; she'd rather be at practice. Or at least not doing homework. But since she got to spend time with Sakaki, she didn't vocalize her complaints too much. She even noticed an improvement in her test scores just from one week of studying with Sakaki. She was still nowhere near as smart as her, but at least her scores weren't as bad as her fellow knuckleheads' scores. Tomo had gone so far as to try and kick her out of the trio, stating that she was not "knucklehead material and was no longer worthy of the title". But Kagura didn't pay her much attention. She was actually surprised how well she had done. Sure, she hadn't done great, scoring a 68. But that was more than double what she usually got. Yukari had even accused the athlete of cheating, wondering where the hell that had come from. She went up to Sakaki and showed her the paper proudly.

"Hey Sakaki! Look how well I did!"

Sakaki looked at the score, shocked. She had barely passed. That wasn't a good score at all!

"Umm Kagura, you know it's out of 100, right?"

"Yeah, I know! But I didn't fail for once!"

Kagura beamed at Sakaki, obviously jacked about her score. Sakaki decided it was probably better to just let Kagura have her moment, rather than argue with her.

"It's great. Good job." Sakaki said sincerely.

Kagura blushed, then looked around frantically, wondering if anyone else had noticed. When she was sure that nobody had, she turned back to Sakaki.

"Thanks. I'll catch you after practice today. Big meet tomorrow!" She said with a wave.

Sakaki shook her head. How anyone managed to be proud of a score like that escaped her. But then again, Kagura wasn't known for having good scores. She went back to her notes, doodling Nekoconekos on the page.

Kagura was excited about practice that afternoon. Right after class let out, she went straight for the locker room and pulled on her practice gear, ready to go. She did a few easy starts, a couple sets of hurdles, and practiced handoffs. Everything felt great, even her foot. After practice, Kagura quickly got into her street clothes and hurried out to meet Sakaki. Nothing could ruin today. Kagura had scored better than she had in a long time on her test, she could run again, and most of all, she had Sakaki by her side. She ran up to the tall girl, jumping on her back, surprising her.

"Sakaki! Ready to head out?"

"Sure. But I'm not carrying you."

Sakaki didn't want Kagura to let go. She thought it was cute when Kagura acted like this. Kagura didn't want to let go either, but she figured she would have to if she wanted to spend any time with Sakaki tonight. So reluctantly, she slid off Sakaki's back, and the two of them began their walk home. Kagura walked Sakaki all the way to her house, instead of branching off to go to her own.

"Umm Kagura?"

"Yeah?"

"Your house is that way."

"Oh I know that. Get changed into something comfortable. We're going out."

"What?"

"You heard me! Now go get changed before I go pick out your clothes for you!" Kagura said, shoving Sakaki towards her house. "You've got 10 minutes before I come in there!"

Sakaki hurried towards the door, knowing that Kagura was dead serious about her 10 minutes. She ran up to her room, and changed into a pair of jeans and a t shirt. If Kagura was going to rush her, she better not expect anything too fancy. Sakaki came back down the stairs and went outside to meet a grinning Kagura.

"Looking cute as always, Sakaki."

Sakaki's face turned the reddest it's ever gone. She looked away from Kagura, obviously embarrassed. Kagura worried that she had said something that had upset the girl. She tried to get a response out of her, but to no avail.

"Umm, hey, let's head over to the park, okay?"

Sakaki just nodded, still embarrassed.

The two walked to the park, right as sunset was falling. Kagura took Sakaki by the hand and led her deep into the park, to a place that Sakaki had never gone before. Eventually the couple stopped under a tree. It was a nice little clearing, perfect for a picnic, or just sitting and relaxing. It was also far enough from the main trail to where they wouldn't be disturbed by the other people in the park. Sakaki felt right at home in the space. She sat down under one of the nearby trees right away, taking in her surroundings. Kagura chuckled a bit, then sat down right next to Sakaki, wrapping an arm around Sakaki's waist and pulling her close. The two sat in silence for a while before Sakaki started conversation.

"So...you do know we have school tomorrow?"

"Yeah, and your point is?"

"Why did you bring me here?"

"I just wanted to hang out with you. That's all." Kagura said, a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Careful, now."

"What?"

"Your face might end up stuck like that." Sakaki joked. Truthfully, she enjoyed when Kagura was this happy. It made her happy too.

"Woah now, watch it Sakaki. What's gotten into you, anyways?"

"What do you mean?"

"You make...jokes now. You tease me."

"I do?"

"Yeah! A lot!" Kagura laughed heartily, amused by the fact that Sakaki had not noticed any change in her behavior, even though it was rather obvious.

"Oh. Well, I think it's maybe because of you."

Kagura gave Sakaki a confused look, expecting further explanation. Sakaki obliged.

"I think...I think being with you is helping me be...less shy. That's all."

Kagura nodded. She was glad that she could help Sakaki. Kagura wandered in her thoughts a bit. She really wanted to stay with Sakaki. But if she couldn't have that, she at least wanted something good to come out of their time together. Kagura had hoped that some of her confidence would rub off on the girl, and it certainly had.

The two sat under the tree, watching the sunset before Sakaki started conversation again.

"Kagura?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you...do you..."

Her speech trailed off as she started blushing again. Kagura took note and realized that whatever Sakaki was going to say next was probably important. She let go of Sakaki's waist and took her hand instead, propping herself up on her knees so that she'd be eye level with the tall girl, staring at the stuttering Sakaki.

"Go on."

"Do you...really think I'm cute?"

Kagura looked at Sakaki and realized how important this was to her. She wanted to say it didn't matter what Sakaki looked like, that she would always love her. But that wasn't what Sakaki needed to hear.

"Sakaki. Look at me."

Sakaki did as she was told, and Kagura reached up to Sakaki's face, cradling her chin softly.

"Sakaki, you're adorable." Kagura whispered under her breath, just loud enough for Sakaki to hear before pressing her lips against Sakaki's. She didn't know why. She knew that the last time she did this, it didn't end well. But she had been feeling unstoppable, invincible.

And that feeling continued when she felt Sakaki return the kiss. She felt Sakaki press back, with a timidity that came with inexperience and lack of confidence; however, it was just enough to encourage Kagura to continue. Kagura reached her free hand up hold the other side of Sakaki's face. Sakaki hesitated, then slowly reached out and place her hands on Kagura's hip, holding her close. The longer they stayed together, the more confidence she gained. By the time they broke apart to breathe, she had been keeping up with Kagura, pressing back almost as eagerly as the athlete. They stared at each other, both breathing heavily from the thrill of what had just happened and at a loss for words. Kagura broke out into the biggest grin Sakaki had scene in weeks. Kagura remained on Sakaki's lap, turning her back to the tall girl, leaning against her, while Sakaki leaned against the tree, wrapping her arms around Kagura to keep her close. The sun had long since set, but neither really cared. Eventually, they got up and walked home, stopping by Kagura's first since she had to get to bed for the meet tomorrow. Before they got there, Kagura stopped Sakaki.

"Thank you. For everything."

"No, Kagura."

Sakaki looked at the puzzled girl before placing a soft kiss on the athlete's forehead.

"Thank you."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Quick note. This chapter's kind of on the short side, so my apologies. I'll get 13 up as soon as I give it another good read over to check for any last minute mistakes. That might be later today, or tomorrow, but I promise it won't be a week. Alright, onto the story! As always, reviews are welcome!**

That night, Kagura couldn't sleep much. She had literally just had the perfect day. She had gotten a decent score on her test, ran at practice and was cleared to compete, and most of all, she had kissed Sakaki. And Sakaki had returned it! Kagura kept replaying the moment over and over in her head, reliving the moment, how Sakaki's lips felt against hers, how Sakaki's hands had held her close, how Sakaki had gained confidence throughout the whole experience. Kagura was absolutely giddy. And to make things even better, the meet was tomorrow! And where there was a meet, there were sure to be university scouts. Kagura knew she didn't have a chance in hell of getting into a university based on just her current grades, so she was making every attempt to catch the attention of a college, so that she could go compete for them. But with Sakaki's help, Kagura's grades could get much better. The athlete didn't even consider the fact that she and Sakaki may not end up at the same school. She was in much too good of a mood to think of something as sad as that. Instead, she brushed off all thoughts of grades as she kept thinking about the meet and the kiss, as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Sakaki didn't sleep much either. Like Kagura, she kept rewinding the kiss over and over in her head. She could still feel Kagura's hands gently holding her face. She also remembered the words that Kagura had spoken to her right before the kiss. Usually, someone would say something like, I love you, or you're beautiful. But Kagura had called her adorable. Which, in Sakaki's mind, was a million times better than anything else Kagura could have said. Sakaki never thought Kagura could be gentle at, well, anything. Sakaki loved when Kagura was her usual, playful self. But she didn't mind having the sweet, sensitive side around every once in a while either. Sakaki sat at her desk, too distracted to sleep, but too wound up to do homework either. Instead, she doodled until she was too tired to keep her eyes open anymore, then crawled into bed, excited for her dreams to come that night.

Kagura got up well before her alarm went off. Instead of rolling over and going back to sleep, the athlete leapt out of bed and began getting ready for the meet. She had enough time to go through her morning routine without being rushed, having time to cook herself a big, healthy breakfast. She double, triple, and quadruple checked to make sure she had her spikes for the races before she left for school, then headed out the door to meet Sakaki. The two girls met up at a corner. They made eye contact, neither forgetting what had happened the night before. Sakaki blushed a bit, while Kagura laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. Neither regretted what happened, but similar thoughts raced through both of their minds. They didn't say anything until they started walking towards school. From there, conversation picked up, mostly about the meet. Kagura rambled on about all of the scouts that were going to be there, while Sakaki listened patiently to her energized friend.

The day dragged along for Kagura. She didn't pay Yukari any mind, mostly staring at the clock, just waiting for the meet to start. Finally, the final bell of the day rang, and Kagura rushed out of the classroom to get down to the track. She got changed into her competition uniform and warm ups, then headed out onto the track for a warm up. The official start time of the meet was coming up fast. The stands were filling up with spectators. Kagura had hoped to see Sakaki sitting in the bleachers, but she did not see the tall, raven haired girl. Kagura found herself a little disappointed. Sakaki knew how much this meet meant to the athlete; why wouldn't she be there supporting her?

_Oh well. This meet's not about Sakaki. It's about you winning these events and getting an athletic scholarship!_

Kagura wandered back inside the locker room to prep herself mentally for the first event. She hadn't been this nervous for a meet ever. Usually, she was cool, calm, and confident. This time, she was still confident, but she had butterflies as well. She heard the door to the locker room open, and she whirled around on the bench she was sitting on to see Sakaki standing in the doorway.

"Sakaki!" Kagura yelled as she jumped up to embrace her. "You...you came!"

"I wouldn't miss it."

Kagura looked up at Sakaki, all anxiety gone. Sakaki saw the fire in the athlete's eyes. She knew she was going to kick some ass on the track today.

"I just wanted to wish you good luck."

"Thanks, Sakaki! I'll make sure to put on a good show for you, alright?" Kagura said, beaming at Sakaki.

"Sounds good."

Kagura leaned up onto her tip toes and gave Sakaki a quick peck on the cheek. She ran out of the locker room, with a quick, "See you after I win!"

Sakaki just smiled. Nothing was going to slow Kagura down today.

And so the meet began. And Kagura was on a roll. She dominated the distance run, her relay team took home the gold, and no one stood a chance against her in the sprints. And her foot was completely fine. Kagura had never been so excited to compete before in her life. She lived to race, to compete. Everything to her was a challenge that needed defeating. But today was just one of those days that she was feeling it. The meet was just about over, and time for her final event drew even closer; the hurdles. Like always, Kagura had posted the fastest time in the hurdles earlier in the season, earning a number one seed. She checked in, got into her lane, and set her blocks.

"Runners, take your marks."

Kagura settled into her warm up. She stretched, jumped in place, and lowered herself into her blocks. She allowed herself a glance up into the stands. She saw scouts from all sorts of universities. She saw her classmates. And she saw Sakaki. Kagura swore that she was going to put on a good show for the fans.

For Sakaki.

"Get set..."

Kagura raised herself, leaning forward, rearing to go as soon as she heard the gun go off. Every muscle tensed, ready to spring into action. She drowned out all of the noise around her. It was a race against herself; no one but her on the track, running for a lifetime best.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Welcome back! Here's thirteen as promised. Next chapter will be up Thursday, as usual. Enjoy!**

Bang!

Kagura surged out of her blocks in what was easily the best start of her life. She stayed low, head down as she powered forward, leaving everyone in the dust. She approached the first hurdle quickly and strode over it effortlessly, as if it wasn't even there. Her form was perfect. An eruption of cheers broke out for the star athlete, but she couldn't hear them. She was in her zone. She remembered what Coach had said about the hurdles.

_If you don't attack them, they will attack you._

So that's what Kagura did. She went after the hurdles before she could even think. She came up to the next hurdle and cleared it just as easily as she had the first. More cheers. Each hurdle afterwards was the same, easy to clear. The scouts had their eyes glued on Kagura, scribbling madly in their notebooks. Nyamo looked on in awe, proud of Kagura for rising to such an occasion. Sakaki sat in the stands, silently cheering for the girl. She knew Kagura was going to win. There was no doubt. She was looked on, admiring the athlete for having the confidence and drive for athletics that she herself lacked.

Kagura approached the final hurdle at full sprint. She was easily two or three hurdles ahead of the other athletes, but Kagura wasn't interested in making this a close race. No, she was only racing against herself now. There was a clock to beat, and it was running out. All she could think about was clearing that hurdle with as little space as possible.

It didn't surprise her when her front foot clipped the top of the hurdle. It was a common thing to do in the event, since the goal was to stride over the hurdle, not jump. However, it did surprise her when her second foot caught on the edge of the obstacle. There was a collective gasp from the audience. Kagura could feel herself falling forward. Fast. She couldn't throw out an arm to catch herself; she'd fall flat on her face and probably hurt her arm. Her only chance was to try and stay upright. Her lead leg planted, spikes digging into the track, trying to stop the fall.

Kagura felt the snap. She felt her knee collapse, bringing her down with it. She couldn't think; all she felt was pain. She knew there was still a race to finish. Kagura tried to move her leg, but she had no control. She considered trying to get up and hop across the finish line, but decided against it. She rolled over onto her back and covered her eyes with her hands, breathing deeply. She wanted to curse, to shout, to cry out in pain. But she had more dignity than that. She knew the others would be finishing, so she made an effort to stay in her lane. As soon as the last person crossed the finish line, Nyamo sprinted onto the track towards the injured athlete.

Everything was a blur to Kagura. She couldn't understand what Nyamo was saying to her. She remembered Coach heaving her up by the armpits and slinging her arm over her shoulder, while holding her up by the waist. She limped feebly towards the locker room with Coach's help. Nyamo set her down on a training bench, allowing her to lay down. The pain came in waves now, going from a dull, numb sensation to full blown searing pain that caused the girl to grip the edges of the bench with white knuckles. She felt Coach elevate her injured knee and pack ice all around it, helping with some of the pain. Nyamo sat down next to Kagura.

"Are your parents here?"

"No, they're working." Kagura managed to get out, voice cracking slightly.

"I see. I don't want to call an ambulance, so would you be okay with riding in my car to the hospital?"

"Hospital..?"

"Yes. Kagura. You...you hurt yourself pretty badly."

"I...I don't like hospitals."

"Kagura..."

Nyamo looked at her athlete. She knew the girl was afraid. And Nyamo knew exactly what had happened. The second Kagura's lead foot had tried to stop the fall, Nyamo's breath caught. She could see the knee buckle as her ACL gave out. There would be no easy way of breaking the news to her student, and she only hoped that it was a clean snap, not a jagged tear. The latter would be much harder to come back from.

"Coach, I can't go there. Wrap me up, give me a brace, anything. Just...don't make me go."

The door to the training room burst open and Sakaki rushed into the room, the fear evident on her usually stoic face. She went ghostly pale at seeing Kagura's knee bound in ice.

"Sakaki, what..."

Sakaki walked unsteadily towards the girl on the bench. The sight of Kagura was making her uneasy, as much as she didn't want to show it. Kagura had picked up a few nasty scrapes from the fall as well, with a particularly nasty one right on her cheek and another running up the side of her arm. Sakaki's weak stomach tossed, but she had to be there for her. She sat down next to her.

"Sakaki, what are you doing here? You shouldn't be here. Athletes and coaches only." Nyamo said sternly.

"I had to check on her. Do you need help getting her outside?"

Nyamo stopped and took a good look at the girl as she stared at Kagura. She knew that the two were good friends, but this surprised her a bit.

"Sakaki, I'm not going anywhere. Coach was just about to bandage me up and send me on home. Right Coach?" Kagura said, looking meaningfully at Nyamo. She was trying to put up a strong front for the worried Sakaki. Nyamo admired the athlete. Even when she was obviously afraid and hurting, she was trying to make Sakaki feel better about the situation.

"Well, since you're here, could you help us get her out to my car? I was going to drive her home." Nyamo said to Sakaki. She then turned and looked a Kagura, giving her a small wink.

"Sure."

Sakaki and Nyamo hoisted Kagura up by the arms, Sakaki wrapping a protective arm around Kagura's waist. They helped the athlete limp out to the car and settled her in the backseat. Nyamo crawled into the driver's side while Sakaki tried to get in on the passenger's side. Nyamo locked the door before she could open it. Kagura unrolled the window and stuck out her hand. Sakaki grabbed onto it instantly, afraid to let Kagura go.

"Hey, I'm gonna be fine. You head home now, alright? I'll call you later tonight."

"Let me come too."

"Coach can handle it."

Sakaki squeezed Kagura's hand even tighter. She stared at the scrape on Kagura's face, which had past the bleeding phase and was now oozing a bit. Sakaki's stomach flipped. She couldn't handle seeing cuts and blood, especially not on Kagura.

"Sakaki. It's okay. Just go home. I'll call."

"Promise?"

"Yeah, of course."

Kagura let go of Sakaki's hand and rolled the window back up. Nyamo took off driving towards the hospital, which, thankfully, was the same direction as Kagura's house. Sakaki stood alone in the parking lot, and mumbled under her breath as the car drove away.

"Love you."


	14. Chapter 14

Kagura and Nyamo arrived at the hospital. Neither had spoken on the way there, creating an air of anxiety. Nyamo helped Kagura out of the car, supporting her as the two slowly made their way inside. As soon as they stepped inside, Kagura tensed considerably. She did not like hospitals. The only time people ended up in them was when something bad had happened. And this time, it was her that had had the accident. The smell of the antiseptics filled her nose, causing her to breath shallowly, not wanted to inhale the scent. She looked around the waiting room. There were people sitting in the chairs with bandages, ice packs, and other assorted dressings. None of them looked like they were in serious condition, but they all appeared to be in pain. Nyamo sat Kagura down and elevated her leg on a nearby table, then left to fill out paperwork. This was going to be a long wait.

Sakaki sat at her desk, staring at her phone. It was late, and Kagura hadn't called, or even texted her yet. She was worried out of her mind about the girl. The fall seemed to be on instant replay in her mind, as she could see Kagura's knee collapse on itself, sending the athlete crashing to the ground. Sakaki figured that her parents must have taken her to the hospital, and she would not be calling that night. However, knowing Kagura, she would have just hid it from her parents, staying locked up in her room all night. That girl could be so stubborn! Suddenly, Sakaki's phone buzzed to life. She snapped to attention, not bothering to look at the caller ID before answering.

"Hello?"

"Hello Miss Sakaki!" Chiyo's cheery voice responded on the other end.

"Oh. Hi Chiyo."

"Miss Sakaki, did you go to Miss Kagura's meet? How did she do?"

"She did well until the last race."

"Oh, what happened?"

"She..."Sakaki remembered the fall. She couldn't describe it to Chiyo. She knew Chiyo would understand the injury itself, but it would upset the girl to hear that something bad had happened to her friend. She decided that she'd leave it to Kagura to tell her. "She fell at the last hurdle."

"Oh no! I'm sure Miss Kagura is very disappointed."

"I bet."

"Miss Sakaki?"

"Yeah?"

"What homework is due tomorrow? I didn't write it down."

Sakaki giggled. This was Chiyo's real reason for calling. She was wondering why she'd be up this late anyways.

"It's page 135 in our English workbook."

"Thank you, Miss Sakaki! See you at school tomorrow!"

"No problem. See you." Sakaki answered as she hang up. She lay her head down on her desk, tired. She soon fell asleep, phone next to her head.

Sakaki was awoken by her phone going off. She jumped, startled by the sudden, loud noise so close to her head. She looked at her clock. 2:35 am. But who..? She looked at the caller ID and immediately answered.

"Kagura?"

"Yeah, it's me. Don't worry."

"I'm not."

"I can hear you. I can tell."

"Okay. Sorry."

"It's fine. Sorry for calling so late. We just got home and my parents finally went to sleep."

"It's okay."

"Thanks." Pause. "Sakaki?"

"Yes?"

"Could you just...just tell me that...that I'm gonna be alright? I've gotten some shitty news today."

Kagura's voice cracked, as if she had been crying. Sakaki wanted to go to her, but she knew that she couldn't. She'd have to comfort her over the phone for now.

"Kagura..."

"Just...just say it. Please."

"You're going to be okay."

"You promise?"

"I do."

Silence.

"Sakaki?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm not going to school tomorrow. Do you think maybe after school you'd wanna come hang out?" Sakaki could hear the desperation in Kagura's voice. Kagura was trying to put up a strong front by casually asking if she wanted to come over, but Sakaki knew that the invitation was anything but casual. Kagura needed someone, but she couldn't ask for help. That wasn't like her. Sakaki smiled a small, sad smile. Even when she was hurting, she was the same, headstrong Kagura that she had come to know and love.

"Of course. I'll see you then."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"Goodnight, Sakaki."

"Goodnight, Kagura." Sakaki said as she hung up.

The next day, Sakaki dragged herself out of bed after a restless night. She went to school and walked into her classroom, half expecting Kagura to be sitting there, arguing with Tomo or talking to Osaka. But her desk was empty. Sakaki's heart sank, realizing that Kagura really wasn't going to be there. And that meant that all of the events at the track meet had happened. The fall. The phone call. The day went too slowly for Sakaki as she awaited the end of the day, so that she could go see Kagura. Finally, when the bell rang, she packed up quickly and hurried out of the school, headed straight for Kagura's house. She knocked on the door and waited patiently. She heard someone fiddling with the lock, and finally the door opened.

Sakaki's eyes widened in surprise. She couldn't help it. There stood Kagura, looking like hell. She had a big bandage on her face, covering up the road rash from the track. Her hair was untidy, a messy bed head look. She looked like she had just woken up. She was dressed in a large, poorly-fitting sweatshirt and a pair of running shorts. But her overall appearance isn't what got to Sakaki. It was the giant, jet black immobilizer brace on the girl's leg. Kagura leaned on her crutches for support as she waved Sakaki inside. Kagura led Sakaki to the living room, presumably where she had been all day. Kagura crutched over to the couch and lowered herself down slowly, carefully. She let out a breath as she did, propping her leg up on the coffee table. Sakaki went straight to Kagura's side and sat down next to her. Kagura leaned forward, her hands clenched tightly, taking deep breaths. In. Out. She stared at nothing in particular, just at empty space. Sakaki wanted to help Kagura. She reached out and placed a gentle hand on Kagura's good knee. She could feel how tense she was. She didn't know what else she should do. Should she hug Kagura? Say something? Or should she just sit there, be there for the girl? Sakaki felt useless. Her hand left Kagura's knee as she slowly reached out to rub the athlete's back. What could she even say to the athlete? Kagura buried her face in her hands, continuing to breathe deeply. When she regained herself, she sat back up, leaning against the back of the couch.

"They said if I want to compete again, I'm gonna need surgery." It took Kagura a while, but she finished her sentence. Sakaki just nodded, allowing the athlete to do the talking. "They have to rebuild my ACL. Tore it." She scoffed at herself. "Guess I won't be competing for a while."

"Don't say that."

"It's true, Sakaki! I tore my ACL. Blew my knee out. Whatever you want to call it, I did it. And I'm done with sports for at least 6 months because of it!" Kagura snapped, the stress of the situation getting to her. "How the hell am I supposed to get a scholarship now?" Kagura shook her head, her frustration leaking through. Sakaki knew that she had to do something to calm her down. She placed a firm hand on Kagura's shoulder, getting the athlete's attention. She whispered, just loud enough for Kagura to hear. As difficult as it was, she needed to be strong for Kagura here. Kagura would do the same for her.

"Listen to me. With or without a scholarship, you're going to college. Okay?"

"I..."

"You will."

Sakaki looked at Kagura sternly, but her eyes gave her away. Sakaki was trying to be strong for Kagura, just like Kagura tried to do for her. Sakaki was scared for Kagura as well. What if she couldn't run again before the end of high school? What were the scouts thinking? Were Kagura's grades good enough to get her into college without that scholarship? Kagura gave Sakaki a sad smile. Sakaki's words and actions had calmed her down and brought her back to reality.

"You know, Sakaki, you don't have to try and act tough for me."

Now it was Sakaki's turn to stutter. Kagura continued to talk over Sakaki's rambling.

"Coach told me what happened before the doctor even came in." Kagura started, "She said she's seen it happen before. She's seen kids come back from it. But she said some don't. What if...what if I can't get better?"

"But you can."

"Hopefully."

"No, not hopefully. For sure."

"You really think so?"

"Kagura, if anyone can, it's you." Sakaki smiled at Kagura, but the athlete did not return it. Instead, the genuine smile caused the dam that was holding back Kagura's emotions to crack. Sakaki could feel the emotions radiating off the girl, wondering when or if they would all escape.

"Sorry, Sakaki. It's just...this whole mess. It's frustrating, you know?"

"It's okay. You know I'm always here for you."

At this, Kagura shifted to face Sakaki. Her eyes were shining, like she was near-tears, but not one had fallen. She roughly pulled Sakaki towards her, burying her face into Sakaki's shoulder, wrapping her arms around the tall girl tightly, as if she were afraid to let go. Sakaki returned the embrace, slowly rubbing Kagura's back. Kagura didn't cry. No, tears weren't going to make her healthy again. But by holding onto Sakaki, Kagura held herself together. And she knew that through this whole crappy situation, she'd at least have something, someone to hold on to, a lifeline to keep her head above water when she felt like she was drowning in the stress. And that lifeline was Sakaki.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Yeah...short chapter. My apologies. I'll put up another one this weekend. Promise. Also, thanks to those who have reviewed, as always. They're greatly appreciated. Now story time!**

Kagura returned to school the next day, crutches and all. Not many people had heard about the injury, and it was apparent by their reactions.

"Kagura! What happened?"

"Yo, what did you do?"

"What's that giant cast for?"

"Why are you on crutches?"

Kagura got sick of answering the questions very quickly. She was already embarrassed to have to be walking around in the bulky immobilizer, and to have it draw even more attention to her was frustrating. The resident wildcat was particularly annoying.

"Kagura! Hey, Kagura!"

"What, Tomo?"

"Lemme borrow your crutches."

"What for?"

"To use."

"For?"

"C'mon, Kagura! Just for a sec."

"No way."

Kagura got tired of the hyperactive girl faster than usual. She had half a mind to take a swing at the girl with her crutch, but decided against it. Everyone seemed to be sensing Kagura's temper rising. Everyone except Tomo.

"Please, Kagura? I just wanna try them out. That's all."

"Tomo, I need these to get around. You're not taking them."

"You think so, huh? Catch me then, gimpy!" Tomo taunted as she grabbed Kagura's crutches and swung across the room. Kagura knew she could bear at least some weight on her leg, so she tried to stand and chase down the wildcat. She had barely gotten out of her desk when Sakaki grabbed her shoulder.

"Stay here. I'll get them."

Sakaki walked up to Tomo, who was expecting Kagura or Yomi to come after her. Not Sakaki. She looked up at the tall girl, puzzled as to what would happen next. Sakaki gave a slight nod, and Yomi acknowledged the sign and smacked Tomo over the head with a textbook. Tomo whipped around, hands on her head, to yell at Yomi. Sakaki took advantage of Tomo's distraction to grab back the crutches and bring them back to a crabby Kagura.

"Don't take it personally. It is Tomo after all."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't mind giving her a good whack with these crutches."

Sakaki just smiled, then sat down at a desk adjacent to where the athlete was seated.

"I mean, c'mon! What's her problem anyways? She's like, I don't know, on obnoxious overload today."

"It's because you're stealing the limelight, Kagura." Yomi stated, who was sitting in the row next to Kagura. Tomo had moved on to arguing with Yukari over something pointless, and since then, had apparently been listening to hers and Sakaki's conversation.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, she's used to being the center of attention. Now she's not. So she's trying to get it back."

"That's ridiculous."

"That's Tomo."

Kagura considered the day's events. She was getting a lot of unwanted attention because of her brace. Therefore, no one paid Tomo's antics any mind. She was used to being the ring leader in the circus that was Yukari's class, the one who caught and held everyone's attention. Yet today, no one was watching.

"Anyways," Yomi continued, "it's lunch time. I need to go pick something up real quick. Sakaki, want to come with?"

Sakaki glanced at Kagura with a questioning look that said, will you be fine if I go? Kagura gave a slight nod, not enough to be noticed by Yomi, but more than enough to give Sakaki the go ahead.

"Sure." Sakaki said as she stood up. The two walked out of the classroom, down the hall to the cafeteria. Meanwhile, a certain wildcat had appeared again. This time, she had a lunch box with her. She sat down, facing Kagura. Kagura gave her a puzzled look when she opened the lunch and began eating without saying a word. _What's this moron doing? She just took my crutches, and now she's sitting her like nothing even happened?_

"Hey, Tomo."

"Hmmphm?" Tomo responded, mouth filled with food. Her table manners needed some work. Kagura shook her head in disgust before continuing.

"Why'd you sit here? Don't you usually eat with Yomi?"

"Mphum phumpmh humhmp..." Tomo started, still shoveling food into her mouth.

"Cut that out, alright? Swallow your food first. Jeez." Kagura interrupted her. Tomo finished her food, then began to speak.

"Can't I eat here?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"That's Sakaki's spot."

"So?"

"So you're not Sakaki."

"Oh settle down. We're friends, right? I just wanted to mix it up." Tomo paused before continuing. "Besides, I wanted to ask when you're gonna be out of that damn brace so we can race again."

"After I get my surgery and physical therapy done."

Tomo paled. "Sur-sur-surgery?" She stuttered.

"Yeah?"

Tomo got a sinister glint in her eye, similar to the ones she got when she was about to taunt Yomi or pick on Chiyo-chan. "Well, I heard this one time, a kid went in for surgery..."

"You didn't hear anything!" Yomi said as she stormed into the room.

"Yomi, Yomi, Yomi. Don't you listen to those "Emergency Room Gone Wrong" segments on the radio while you're doing your homework? You know very well that Kagura could..."

"Oh, shut up." Yomi stopped listening to the rambling Tomo. "Anyways, Kagura, when is your surgery?"

"At the end of this month."

"Are you scared?" Chiyo-chan popped up into conversation.

"No. Not really. Just means I can start practicing again sooner."

"Well, let us know when it is! We'll all come visit!" A smiling Chiyo-chan exclaimed. The rest of the group nodded in agreement. Kagura smiled back.

Kagura looked around at her group of friends. Chiyo-chan was bouncing up and down excitedly, trying to be as supportive as possible. Yomi stood there confidently, a small smile present on her face. Tomo had an arm draped over Yomi's shoulder, looking as cocky as ever. Osaka...Osaka had been asleep this whole time. Kagura made sure to make a note of asking Chiyo-chan to bring her along when they came to visit. Finally, Kagura came to Sakaki. The tall girl had her usual, emotionless face, but Kagura had learned to look for certain things that would signal what exactly the girl was thinking. When she was determined, her brow would furrow ever so slightly, and the slightest glimpse of a frown would appear. When she was relaxed, everything would soften, from the way she stood to her eyes. Today, Sakaki's brow was creased and raised slightly, jaw tight. It looked normal to everyone but Kagura. This was Sakaki's worried face. She told herself that she'd talk to Sakaki about it later.

"Thanks, guys, I'll let you know."


	16. Chapter 16

The date of Kagura's surgery was coming up. She knew she wasn't in any danger. The procedure was safe. However, everyone else's comments did not ease her nerves any. In fact, they were making it worse. A lot worse. Kagura couldn't blame Chiyo. She was young, after all. She knew very well that Kagura was going to be alright, but she couldn't help but be nervous for the athlete. The thought of one of her friends going under the knife, even for such a simple surgery, was terrifying to the young genius. Osaka was not much better. Osaka had gotten into the nasty habit of thinking up every possible situation that something bad could happen during the surgery, some too far-fetched to even consider, but some having just enough possibility to make Kagura squirm. Osaka theorized the doctor's operating on the wrong leg, on the wrong ligament, even doing the wrong procedure all together. She mused about the doctor's forgetting what they should have been doing, and even leaving the operating room, accidentally leaving Kagura on the table, forgetting all about her. Kagura knew that none of this would actually happen, but sometimes, she did wonder what would happen if the doctors accidentally screwed up. Yomi did nothing to ease these fears of doctor error, as Kagura had once overheard her talking to Sakaki about stories in which patients woke up during their surgeries, able to feel everything that was happening, but unable to do anything about it. Of course, Tomo came up with preposterous ideas, just like Osaka, only with the intent to scare the athlete, but her ideas were so outlandish that Kagura learned to tune them out. She had also gotten into the nasty habit of asking Kagura which possessions she could have if she died during the operation. However, Kagura learned that if she mentioned going to the hospital, Tomo would back off considerably. She figured that Tomo, like her, had a certain disdain for hospitals.

Sakaki, on the other hand, had never once said a word about the surgery. She didn't even ask when it was going to happen. Kagura wasn't quite sure what to make of this. Kagura knew that Sakaki was worried about her. But she thought that the tall girl would at least be curious about the details of the surgery. Then again, Kagura did notice Sakaki acting a little strange lately. She always seemed to be right at Kagura's side, always there when she needed to reach something or go and get something. Kagura wasn't walking home from school anymore, but as the final bell rang one day, she stopped Sakaki on the way out.

"Hey, Sakaki?"

"Hmm?"

"Mind if we chat for a minute?"

"Sure."

The two made their way outside slowly, to where Kagura was going to get picked up.

"Look, we probably don't have time for the whole conversation now, so do you wanna meet at my house at say, 7ish? I'll tell my parents that you're helping me get caught up in my classes. They'll be thrilled that I'm actually trying my schoolwork."

"Sure, I can meet you then."

"Great."

A car pulled up and the horn honked, signaling to Kagura that her ride was there.

"I'll catch you later, Sakaki!"

"Bye."

Kagura gingerly got into the car, taking great care not to bump her leg or get it caught on an edge. She finally managed her way inside, settling into the seat. She waved to Sakaki as she drove towards her house. Sakaki waved back, although it was rather absentmindedly. She stared off into space, just wondering what Kagura wanted to talk to her about.

7 o'clock finally rolled around, and Sakaki stood on Kagura's step, ready to knock on the door. As soon as she reached out to knock, the door opened itself, revealing a casually dressed Kagura, complete in a t shirt and sweatpants, with the large brace on the outside of the pants. Her crutches were nowhere to be seen. Without a word, Kagura reached out and grabbed Sakaki's hand, pulling her inside. The athlete limped towards the stairs, then proceeded to hop up them, one by one, out of breath by the time she reached the top. Sakaki was right behind her, ready to catch her if she had made a mistake and tripped. Kagura reached back and retook Sakaki's hand, leading her down the short hallway to where her room was. It was a small, messy room, with sports clothes strewn about, games and controllers scattered all around, magazines with pictures of bikes and sports equipment littering the ground. At least the desk was clean and the bed was made.

"Sorry it's such a mess. I haven't gotten around to cleaning much."

"Don't worry about it."

"Funny you should say that. I should be telling you that." Kagura said. "Here, sit."

Kagura was already on the bed, leg stretched out onto the desk chair. Sakaki sat down on the bed next to Kagura.

"What's wrong?"

"Hmm?" Sakaki had been too busy staring around the room to fully grasp Kagura's question.

"You've been acting so...I don't know, weird lately. You must be worried about something."

"I'm fine."

"Yeah, right. Seriously, are you scared about the surgery? Because it's a really safe procedure..." Kagura started, only to be interrupted.

"I know that."

"Then what are you so freaked out about?"

Sakaki bit her lip, going slightly red. She did not look at Kagura as she spoke.

"I...I can't be there. With...with you."

"Sakaki, if you're afraid of hospitals, you don't have to go. I understand completely."

"No, that's not it..."

"Then what do you mean? Are you busy that day? Because you don't have to wait for me right out of surgery. I'll probably be too drugged up to recognize you!"

Sakaki shook her head. "No, that's not it either."

Kagura was stumped. If she wasn't afraid, and if she wasn't busy, then what was the problem? Her quizzical look made Sakaki continue.

"I can't...can't be there. To help."

It hit Kagura like a tidal wave. How protective Sakaki had become since the accident. How she never left her side, how she got everything for her, how she always asked permission to go anywhere with anyone else. It made perfect sense. Sakaki was worried sick about the girl, and her way of dealing with it was to make sure that nothing worse happened to Kagura. Kagura thought it was sweet of her to act this way, but she also didn't want Sakaki to be afraid.

"Sakaki, the doctors are going to take good care of me. You don't have to be afraid."

"But..."

"No buts. The surgery will be okay."

Sakaki nodded, her qualms still present. The faint sound of a door opening and closing reached the room, and people could be heard moving around downstairs. Kagura whipped around, facing the door.

"Shit. They're not supposed to be home yet..." Kagura said under her breath, but Sakaki still heard. She assumed Kagura was talking about her parents. Speaking of which, Sakaki had never met Kagura's parents. She never saw them when she went to Kagura's house, and they never went to Kagura's sporting events, mostly because they both worked late.

"Sakaki, I need you to stay here for a bit. Alright?" Kagura addressed the girl. She just nodded. Kagura left the room, leaving a puzzled Sakaki sitting alone on the bed. She heard talking, then a door open and close again, along with the sounds of a car engine turning on. Sakaki heard Kagura managing her way up the stairs, a dull thud each time she hopped up one. Kagura reappeared in the doorway, making her way back to the bed.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I just needed them to go get me some fresh ice packs and wraps. Mine are starting to get bad."

"Why can't I meet them?"

"Meet who?"

"Your parents."

"Oh, you can meet them eventually. They just said I couldn't have people over tonight, so technically you're not supposed to be here at all." Kagura paused and took Sakaki's hand. "But I'm glad you are."

Sakaki smiled, then asked Kagura, "So...are we going to do homework?"

"Not a chance." Kagura laughed. "But I think you're gonna have to leave...I don't want to get into trouble, and I don't want your first impression on my folks to be a bad one, you know?"

Sakaki nodded in agreement. She got up and reached a hand out to Kagura to help her off the bed. Kagura pushed it aside, laughing some more. "Sakaki, you do realize I can still do things for myself, right? You don't have to baby me." Sakaki went red-faced, embarrassed by her actions. They made their way down the stairs to the front door. Before Sakaki could leave, Kagura tugged on her hand, getting her attention. She motioned for Sakaki to lean down, and they shared a quick, sweet kiss.

"You don't have to protect me, Sakaki. I can take care of myself. But..." Kagura became a little flustered, a slight pink appearing on the bridge of her nose, "thanks for doing it anyways."

Sakaki looked down at the athlete, blushing herself. "Of course."

Kagura grinned. "Now get on out of here, before my parents catch us!"

Sakaki smiled and waved as she left the house, feeling a little better.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Well...yeah. Sorry this wasn't up on Thursday, which is my usual update day. So, to apologize/make up for my tardiness, here's two chapters. Read, review, and enjoy! **

The day of the surgery was upon the young athlete. She knew she was in good care, but that didn't stop her from being scared. She had been cleared to go home right after the surgery, so Kagura had arranged for her friends to come and visit the day after the surgery for a movie night. She was looking forward to being able to spend time with them like always. Hopefully her leg wouldn't bother her too much.

Her surgery was scheduled for Friday afternoon. When the last bell signaling the end of Thursday's classes rang, anxiety struck Kagura full force. Even Osaka's crazy musings were starting to sound like valid mistakes that the doctors could make. But there were people who were afraid for her, just as scared as she was, mainly Chiyo and Sakaki. She had to be fearless for them. So Kagura put on a brave front when she left the school, reaching her car and waving goodbye to her group of friends, promising to call them on Saturday about the movie night. She had also promised Sakaki a phone call that night, and a call she got. Sakaki answered the phone quickly.

"Hey Kagura."

"Hey Sakaki. What's up?"

"Doing homework. You?"

"Playing some Mortal Kombat. Do you play at all?"

"No, I don't like video games."

"That's a shame. Probably why your grades are better than mine though."

Both of the girls laughed, but it was forced. Neither wanted to talk about the upcoming surgery, but that's what both of them needed to talk about.

"So...are you ready?" Sakaki started the conversation.

"Yeah, I guess. I'll be fine."

"Are you scared?"

"Are you kidding? I'm perfectly okay, especially knowing that I can come home after."

"It's okay if you are."

"Sakaki, I'm not afraid."

Kagura could imagine the face Sakaki would be making. It would be subtle, but to Kagura, it would scream, you're lying. Sakaki didn't even have to say a word. Just the image of her face made Kagura give in.

"Okay, okay. Maybe I'm a little nervous. But you know what? I bet you're scared too."

"Am not."

"Oh, you definitely are. I thought you were going to take off at a full sprint after the car today when I pulled out of the parking lot!"

Sakaki blushed furiously at this comment. The thing was, Kagura was completely right. She did not want Kagura to leave. But she had to let it happen. She was so lost in her thoughts that she did not hear Kagura laughing on the other end of the line.

"Sakaki, it's okay for you to be worried too. How about you come over after the surgery and keep me company? I can't promise that I'll be on top of my game, but the 'rents won't mind."

"I'd like that."

"Great. I'll call you tomorrow then."

"Okay. Goodbye, Kagura."

"Bye Sakaki."

"Good luck." Short pause, then a stutter that Kagura couldn't make out.

"What's that?"

"L-l-love you."

Kagura grinned. "Love you too, Sakaki."

She hung up the phone, and went to bed, still smiling.

The next day, Kagura was awakened by the sun shining in through her window instead of my her alarm clock, which made for a pleasant change. But the minute she got up, she was extra aware of the time. She was counting down hours, even minutes until the surgery. She got out of bed and got ready for the day. Within the next couple of hours, she was sitting in her parents' car, on her way to the hospital. She checked her phone, noticing that she had 5 missed texts and calls. She smiled. She knew who they were all from, even if she hadn't opened her phone to check. She didn't have to look to have them make her feel better. She and her parents arrived at the hospital, checked in, and began the wait to when Kagura would be allowed to leave that night.

It was a little late when Kagura got home, but not too bad. She wasn't feeling her best, still groggy from the surgery. She was still in pain, but she was too tired to notice. She wanted nothing more than to just crash and go to bed. The stairs up to her room were a struggle; her dad almost had to carry his exhausted daughter up the stairs to her room. She fell on her bed and closed her eyes, almost falling asleep right then. She took a quick peek at her phone, noticing that she had even more messages than when she had gone into surgery. Most of them were missed calls, almost exclusively from Sakaki. Kagura sat upright a little too quickly, making her dizzy. She had forgotten to call Sakaki! She dialed her number and waited, but not for long. Sakaki answered on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sakaki. Sorry for the wait. I forgot I was supposed to call."

"It's okay. How are you?"

"Not gonna lie, I'm real tired."

"I can just come tomorrow, if that would be better."

"No, come on over. Besides, I'm bored."

"Your parents won't mind?"

"Don't think so. I'll tell them you're coming to keep me company. They have work to do anyways."

"Okay, I'll be over then."

"Great. Don't bother knocking; my dad will be in the basement and my mom went to work anyways, so she won't be here at all. Just come on in and come up to my room."

"Okay."

"Alright. See you soon, Sakaki."

"Bye."

About a half an hour later, Sakaki showed up at Kagura's. She remembered what she had said about knocking, and although she felt rather rude about it, she walked into the house. She went up to Kagura's room and knocked on the door quietly. A shout from inside signaled for Sakaki to come in. Kagura was seated on her bed, her leg propped up on her desk, playing Mortal Kombat on her PS3. She didn't even turn her head to acknowledge Sakaki's arrival. Sakaki was beginning to wonder if the shout had been to enter, or if Kagura was just yelling at the game.

"Take that, you no good son of a bitch! Shit!"

Kagura had no idea that Sakaki had come in the room. She was trying to keep herself awake so that she could see Sakaki, even if it were only for a little bit. She was focused on her game.

"Kagura..."

"That's it! Yeah! Oh shit...fucking...fuck!" Kagura yelled as she slammed the controller down, evidently upset that she had lost the round. She turned to the door and saw Sakaki standing there. Her face went blank. She wasn't embarrassed about her previous behavior.

"Oh, hey Sakaki."

"Hi."

"How long have you been there?"

"Only a little bit."

"Oh okay. Well sorry I didn't hear you come in. Wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure."

"Cool. You pick and get it set up."

Sakaki did as she was told, while Kagura cleared off a spot on her bed for the tall girl to sit. Sakaki came and sat next to the athlete, who was seated on her bed, ice packs encasing her leg. Sakaki sat next to the girl and took her hand. The two watched the credits roll, and Sakaki started asking Kagura about the her knee.

"How are you doing?"

"Still tired. The drugs are making me sleepy."

"Are you sure you want to stay up and watch the movie?"

"Yeah, of course."

"How does it feel?"

"Cold."

Sakaki shook her head at Kagura. The latter laughed and squeezed Sakaki's hand.

"It hurts. But not too bad. Tomorrow will be worse."

"Do you want to cancel movie night?"

"No way. I'm gonna be bored shitless tomorrow if you all don't come over. Besides, I can boss Tomo around tomorrow and not get any attitude back for once!"

Sakaki just smiled and turned back to the movie, satisfied that Kagura was feeling okay. It could have been the drugs talking, but the athlete's remarks were as cocky as ever. It wasn't long into the movie that Sakaki noticed that Kagura's hand had went limp. She felt a soft thud on her shoulder, and she turned down to look at Kagura. The athlete had fallen asleep, soundly by the looks of it, right on Sakaki's shoulder. She looked so cute that Sakaki blushed, and didn't have the heart to wake her up. So she scooted over closer to the athlete so that she could sleep more comfortably, and wrapped her arm around her waist, pulling her in tight. She continued to watch the movie, enjoying the moment as the athlete slept.


	18. Chapter 18

Kagura woke up, her neck stiff. She reached up to massage it, when she suddenly smacked something with her elbow. The athlete jumped in surprise, as she saw Sakaki sitting next to her, holding her face. A thin trickle of blood ran out from between her fingers.

"Holy shit! Sakaki! What're you doing here? What happened?"

"Kagura, calm down. I'm okay."

But Kagura was still panicking. What the hell was going on? Why was Sakaki in her room, with a bloody nose?

"Kagura, quiet down. It's late."

Kagura took time out to look at the clock. 1:27. Her parents were definitely asleep, and she couldn't wake them. Especially since Sakaki was still there! She apologized quietly.

"Sakaki, why are you still here?"

"You fell asleep."

"So? That probably meant that you could leave, you know."

"I know."

"Then why didn't you?"

"I didn't want to wake you."

Kagura looked at the girl, who was slightly blushing. There was another reason she hadn't left. She looked at Sakaki skeptically, who gave in right away.

"And...and I kinda fell asleep too."

Kagura smiled at the girl, not upset at all. "Oh, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Let's do something about your nose though. The bathroom is the next door down on the left. Can you find that in the dark?" Sakaki nodded. "Good. Come back with some tissue once you've washed up a bit. Oh, be quiet too." Sakaki nodded again and left the room, only to come back a few minutes later, cleaned up, without a nosebleed. She sat down next to Kagura again, who was propped up in her bed, obviously struggling to stay awake. Sakaki sat down on the edge of the bed.

"So, I'm guessing you're just staying the night then." Kagura laughed quietly.

"I can go."

"No, you don't have to."

Sakaki looked at the half-asleep athlete. She doubted whether or not Kagura was fully aware of what she was saying, between the effects of her drowsiness and the medications she was on.

"Okay. Where's the futon?"

Kagura scoffed, then smiled at Sakaki. "Futon? You don't need a futon." She scooted over to make room for Sakaki, then patted the newly-cleared space. "Here."

Sakaki looked at the space next to Kagura nervously. Would it really be okay for her to stay, let alone sleep in the same bed as Kagura? She still doubted whether or not Kagura was thinking straight. And what if her parents came in to check on Kagura in the morning? She ran through all of the options in her head, trying to figure out what the best thing to do would be. She did not notice that Kagura had put on a slight pout, a little disappointed with how long it took Sakaki to reach a decision.

"You know, you don't have to stay if you don't want to. I just thought it would be easier for you than trying to explain to your folks why you were out so late. And the futon's in the closet, on the top shelf if you wanna grab it."

Instead of answering, Sakaki asked a question of her own. "Do you have a pair of shorts that I could borrow? Just for the night?"

"Sure. Dresser over there, bottom drawer."

Sakaki pulled out a pair of running shorts, went back to the bathroom, changed into them, and came back to the room. Silently, she walked back into the room and crawled into the bed next to Kagura. She wrapped an arm around Kagura's waist and closed her eyes, suddenly feeling very sleepy. Without meaning to, she fell asleep quickly, still holding on to Kagura. Kagura, who had been on the edge of sleep before Sakaki came back, woke up to Sakaki holding her close, her head resting on her shoulder. Kagura smiled and draped an arm around Sakaki's shoulders, falling quickly back to sleep herself.

Sakaki woke up the next morning to sun shining in through the window. She snuggled into her pillow, trying to avoid the sun's rays.

Or, at least what she thought was a pillow.

"Good morning to you too, Sakaki." Kagura laughed.

Sakaki snapped open her eyes, suddenly remembering where she was. She remembered staying the night at Kagura's. And she was now very aware of how she had been using Kagura's chest as a pillow. She jumped up and out of the bed, falling onto the floor, with her signature blush covering her face. She stuttered out an apology. Kagura just continued to laugh.

"It's okay, Sakaki. I don't mind."

"How long was I like that?"

"For awhile."

"S-s-s-sorry."

"Don't be. You were sleeping."

Sakaki got up and moved back to the bed.

"How did you sleep?"

"Not too good. It was hard to sleep for a long stretch. My knee kept waking me up."

"Do you need me to get you anything?"

"No, it's fine. How'd you sleep?"

"Good."

"Bet you did." Kagura grinned, making Sakaki even more embarrassed. Kagura laughed and hugged Sakaki. "Oh, I'm only kidding. What time is it?"

"About 7:30."

"My parents should be leaving for work around 8. Would you mind staying here until they leave? I'll go down and get breakfast started."

"You don't need help?"

"Sakaki, you're doing it again."

"What?"

"Babying me. I'm still able to move, you know."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Now just stay here and leave your phone on. I'll call when you can come down. I'm not going up and down these stairs more than I need to, you know?"

"Right. See you soon."

Kagura gave Sakaki a quick peck on the cheek, then limped out the door. Sakaki sat on the bed and shook her head. She couldn't believe what she had done last night. She hadn't planned on spending the night with Kagura, let alone in the same bed. But at the same time, she thought about what a good night's sleep she had gotten...and her wakeup call wasn't too bad either. Sakaki blushed from her own thoughts. Why was she thinking this way? She sat, lost in thought, until her phone brought her back to reality.

"Hey, come on down! Dad just left for work, and I've made breakfast!"

Kagura didn't give Sakaki a chance to respond, as she hung up the phone right after her message. Sakaki made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. Her jaw dropped at the sight. There were eggs splattered everywhere, the fridge was wide open, the stove still on. There were assorted omelet ingredients strewn around, cabinets with dishes teetering on the edges, dirty pots and pans filling the sink. And Kagura sat in the middle of it all, a proud smile lighting up her face, with two omelets sitting on clean plates at the table.

"Sakaki! Good morning! I made you an omelet!"

Sakaki was still taking in the sight of the kitchen. How had Kagura managed to make such a mess in just thirty minutes? She reluctantly sat down at the table, warily eyeing the dishes to make sure none took a tumble.

"Go on! Try it!"

Sakaki did as she was told. She took a bite...and immediately regretted it. She wasn't sure how, but Kagura had managed to make an omelet that was both under and over cooked at the same time. She had no idea what she had all put into it, but the ingredients she had chosen did not complement each other very well. In an attempt to be polite, Sakaki choked down her first bite, even managing to swallow a second. Kagura seemed satisfied, then took a bite out of hers. She choked and gagged a bit, eventually spitting it out into a napkin.

"Holy. Shit. I really ruined this one. Sakaki, is yours any good?"

Sakaki looked away guiltily. Kagura sighed and shook her head.

"Sorry about that. But you know, you can tell me if it sucks, you know."

"I didn't want to be rude."

"Well, I don't want to give you food poisoning. Speak up. It's okay." Kagura smiled. Sakaki returned it.

"Hey, Kagura?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I..."

"Yeah?"

"Can I clean up a bit?"

Kagura looked at the kitchen.

"Go for it."


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Well hey there readers. I'm back, and I've got a new chapter for you all. The longest one yet. So I hope that makes up for my tardiness in some small way. These last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic for me, so my apologies. Updates will be back on schedule after this one. And with that, back to the important stuff; the story! As always, read and review! **

Kagura wandered into her living room and plopped down on her couch, turning on the TV and propping her leg up on the coffee table. She had made quite a mess of the kitchen, and instead of cleaning it herself, Sakaki had offered to take care of it. Kagura didn't care to clean much, so when she realized what a mess she really had made, she was more than willing to let Sakaki have at it. She felt bad for letting Sakaki clean up her mess, but it was also a bit of a relief. Her knee was really starting to get to her, the pain and discomfort getting steadily worse. She took her medication, but they only did so much. She settled into the couch, listening to the dull drone of morning TV, and promptly fell asleep.

Sakaki busied herself in the kitchen almost all morning. She washed all of the dirty dishes, wiped up the bits of omelet and raw egg splattered around the kitchen, closed the fridge and cabinets, and turned off the stove. She finished her work, satisfied with the sparkling clean kitchen. She sat down at the table, tired from her efforts. She was still amazed by how the girl had managed to make such an incredible mess. She hoped Kagura wasn't always such a slob. She rose from her chair and went into the living room, where she saw a sleeping Kagura, mouth wide open, a light snore in sync with her chest rising and falling. Sakaki couldn't help but smile. Even when she was sleeping, she was still cute, even if it wasn't the most flattering way of sleeping. She went over to the sleeping athlete and gently shook her shoulder. Kagura awoke with a start.

"Wha-?"

"Hey Kagura."

Kagura grinned. "Hey there. Finished cleaning the kitchen?"

"I did."

"That's nice."

"I think I'm going to go now."

"What? Why?"

"I have to go home sometime, you know."

"I suppose. See you later for movie night?"

"Of course."

"Great. C'mon over whenever you'd like. I'll tell the gang around 8ish then. You're welcome before that, or course."

"Okay. I'll call before."

"Sounds good. See you later!"

"Bye."

Sakaki left the living room and went to open the door. Before she could get it opened, Kagura yelled to her from the other room.

"Love you!"

Sakaki said it back, much quieter than Kagura had said it. Kagura, unable to hear it, yelled again.

"Aren't you going to say it back?"

Sakaki walked back to the living room to meet a grinning Kagura, obviously enjoying herself.

"Anything you want to say?"

"Love you too, Kagura."

Kagura's grin got even larger, if it were possible. She waved to Sakaki, then turned back to face the TV, now watching old reruns of some soap opera. Even if it wasn't the most interesting thing, it would put her to sleep at the very least.

Sakaki walked home, wondering if her parents would ask her where she had been all night. Hopefully, they wouldn't even be home, so she wouldn't have to go through questioning. She felt awful for keeping secrets from her parents; she didn't want to lose their trust. But this was something she didn't feel like dropping on her parents at the moment, or for a while. She had no idea how they would react to hearing that their daughter had a girlfriend, and she did not want to think about what would happen if they didn't accept her or Kagura. She started thinking about all the what-ifs in their relationship. What would happen if none of their friends were okay with it? She thought about the night before and all of the questions rising in her head, and she finally returned to her house, and carefully, quietly slipped inside. She quickly made her way upstairs to her room and went inside, closing the door tightly behind her. She let out a sigh. She had made it without being questioned. She didn't even think her parents were home. She looked at the clock, which read 12:45. She had a lot of time before she would head back over to Kagura's, but she knew she'd end up going over early. She sat down with a book. Well, if she had time to kill, she might as well do something a little productive.

Kagura, on the other hand, did two things all day. When she wasn't sleeping, she was watching crappy daytime TV. When she wasn't watching some old game show, she was napping. It was all she could do. She didn't dare brave the stairs while home alone; her knee was too sore for that, and if she fell, there'd be no chance for her. Kagura didn't feel good in general. Even with Sakaki by her side, she hadn't slept well, because the pain in her knee kept her up all night. Her knee continued to pulse and throb, sometimes being bearable, others putting her into a fit of pain, where she would clench her hands and grind her teeth. The medicine she was on to help with the pain and swelling was just barely doing its job, and it made her dizzy and nauseous. So she let her brain be turned to mush by the TV talk show hosts, as she awaited the time when her friends would finally come over and keep her company.

Sakaki looked at her clock. It was only 4:36. She still had at least a few more hours until she could show up to Kagura's house. She sighed. She really wanted to go over now, but she wanted Kagura to at least have a few hours of rest before all of them showed up. She worried that the girl would be overwhelmed by having everyone over, especially Tomo. She looked at the clock again, dismayed by the fact that only a few more minutes had passed. She looked around her room, and was struck by a brilliant idea. She would go out and buy Kagura a get well gift, then bring it over to her tonight. She would show up early with it, so that the other girls wouldn't think anything of it. She grabbed her stuff and headed downstairs and out the door, set on buying Kagura the best present she could think of.

Kagura was awoken by her phone buzzing on her lap. She blearily looked at the screen, seeing that Sakaki was calling. She answered, still half asleep.

"Mmmm...hello?" Kagura drawled.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"Yeah, but whatever. What time is it?"

"It's about 7:00."

"What?"

Kagura was instantly awake, unaware of how the time had flown today. She had to get the house at least cleaned up a bit before friends came over. She stuck the phone to her shoulder and started limping around the living room, picking up and folding blankets, rearranging pillows, picking things up off the coffee table.

"Kagura?"

"Yeah?"

"Could I come over now?"

"Only if you're willing to help clean."

"I can do that."

"Great. See you in 30 then?"

"Actually, I'm already out. It'll be more like 15."

"That's cool. See you soon."

"Yeah. Bye."

"Bye."

Kagura sat back down on the couch, tired by her sudden outburst of energy. She wondered how she would be able to handle Tomo and her antics tonight. But she didn't worry about it too much. As much as she hated to admit it, she was going to miss being able to keep up with the wildcat for a while. She waited for a bit, then heard a knock on the door.

"C'mon in! It's not locked!"

Sakaki stuck her head around the corner.

"Hey there." Kagura smiled. "Come on in."

"Close your eyes first."

"This isn't another homework surprise, is it? Because I swear..."

Sakaki smiled. "No, no homework this time. Just do it."

Kagura closed her eyes, going along with Sakaki's little game. She heard Sakaki moving across the room, and stop right in front of her.

"Okay, go ahead and open."

Kagura opened her eyes, and gapped at Sakaki. She was holding a giant, plushie bear that was almost as big as her. It had chocolate brown fur, and a velvet, deep blue bowtie. Sakaki stood there, blushing like mad. She hoped Kagura liked it.

"Is that...is that for me?"

"It's a get well gift."

"Sakaki, you didn't have to."

"I know. I wanted to." She walked over and gave it to the athlete. "Do you...do you like him?"

Kagura pulled the bear into a tight hug. "I love him. Thanks, Sakaki."

Sakaki blushed even more, relieved that Kagura liked the present she had picked out. Kagura tugged gently on Sakaki's hand, which signaled to the tall girl to lean down to the athlete's level. Kagura pulled Sakaki into a sweet kiss, which quickly progressed into a more passionate one. Sakaki took a seat on the couch, careful not to jostle Kagura's leg, and not to break the seal of the kiss between them. Kagura dropped the bear and used her now-free hands to pull Sakaki even closer to her, leaving them to rest on Sakaki's hips. Sakaki tangled one hand in Kagura's short hair, and placed the other on the small of Kagura's back. She ran her fingertips gently around her back, making Kagura shudder. Kagura smirked into the kiss, ready to get revenge of her own. She brushed her fingers up Sakaki's sides, then back down, making her blush. Her breath caught in her throat. The two finally pulled apart, both breathing heavily. Kagura settled into Sakaki's shoulder, while the latter wrapped an arm around the athlete's waist. Kagura looked up at Sakaki.

"So...why the bear?"

"Hmm?"

"Why'd you get me that particular bear?"

"Oh." Sakaki went red-faced. "I thought...his fur. It matched your eyes."

Kagura smiled up at Sakaki.

"Well, I guess it does, doesn't it?"

Sakaki just nodded. Kagura laughed, and turned back to the TV. She shifted a bit, trying to get comfortable. Her knee was really starting to ache, and as much as she didn't want to have to get up, she figured she would have to eventually. Sakaki noticed.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just stiff."

"Do you need your medicine?"

"Not right now. It makes me sleepy." Sakaki raised an eyebrow. Kagura grinned, trying to hide her pain. "Besides, the gang will be here soon. I need to stay awake."

"Where's your ice and medicine?"

"Like I'm telling you."

Sakaki stood up and walked to the kitchen, presumably to get Kagura a fresh ice pack. Kagura shook her head, a smile on her face. Sakaki would do something like this. There was no way she'd find her meds though. They were up in her room, and even Kagura had a tough time finding them. Sakaki returned with the ice, switching out Kagura's old, melted pack. Wordlessly, she returned the useless pack to the freezer, then headed upstairs in search of the pain pills. Kagura chuckled and shook her head again. _Good luck finding those pills._


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Hooray for update Thursdays! Thanks for being patient and waiting. Also, I'm going to take the time out here to advertise for a good friend of mine. He just posted a new AzuDai fic titled "Six Comrades", pen name RedSaltire. It's set in the USSR during World War II, and let me tell ya, it's good. Go check it out after you're done reading this! **

Sakaki wandered into the bathroom, assuming that's where Kagura kept her medicine. When she didn't find it, she figured that it must be in Kagura's room. She opened the door and sighed at the sight. She knew Kagura's room was a mess, but she hadn't remembered it being this bad. Maybe it looked worse because she was actually trying to find something. Either way, Sakaki set out on a mission to find that medication.

Meanwhile, as Sakaki rummaged through Kagura's mess of a room, Kagura sat on the couch, absentmindedly playing with the bear's bowtie. Kagura had to admit, it was cute. And she loved how Sakaki had thought of her when she picked it out. She was abruptly taken from her thoughts by the front door being thrown open, slamming against the wall.

"KAGURA!"

Tomo appeared in the entry way, energy radiating off of her in every direction. She ran over to Kagura, bouncing lightly onto the couch. She eyed Kagura's knee and brace warily, as if they were something that could hurt her, not the other way around. She leaned into Kagura's face.

"Hi."

"Would you back off, moron?"

"Wow, I'm hurt! You haven't seen me for days, and yet, this is the welcome I get?"

"You barged into my house first!"

"So? I saved you a trip to the door."

"What time is it?"

"7:50ish."

"You're early."

"Yeah? And?"

"Just surprised. That's all."

"Well, now that you mention it, I was racing against the clock. I wanted to be here before eight."

Kagura just laughed, ignoring all of the stupid Tomo remarks. Kagura tried to get a decent conversation going.

"So how've you been? How was school without me?"

"Well, not gonna lie, class is boring without you. No one can match or put up a good challenge for me and my superior intellect." Kagura groaned and rolled her eyes at the girl. Typical Tomo. The wildcat ignored this reaction and continued, "Although, funny story..." She proceeded to explain to Kagura about what she had missed on Friday. Apparently, she, Yomi, and Osaka had skipped out on class to go out for lunch. Sakaki stayed behind to cover for the girls. Tomo had taken Yomi and Osaka out to a new restaurant, one that they had never been to before. They lost track of time, forgetting that they had to get back to class. When they remembered, Tomo had fled the restaurant, leaving Yomi and Osaka behind. The stragglers were left to pay for the meal. They exited the restaurant, only to find out that neither knew how to get back to the school. So the two of them missed the rest of class that day, wandering around, lost in the city.

"And then...and then I find them, in the park like in the late afternoon, looking all tired and shit, sitting on a park bench. I thought Yomi was gonna kill me when she saw me!" Tomo cried, in tears of laughter from telling her story. Kagura laughed too, picturing perfectly Yomi's expression. The whole story was rather entertaining. Kagura was sad that she had missed it. Meanwhile, Sakaki had found Kagura's medicine, and was waiting on the steps. She had definitely heard Tomo make her entrance, and she heard the two of them poking fun at each other like always. She didn't want to interrupt. She figured this was something Kagura wanted, no, needed, to feel better. She needed to be treated like normal, and what got more normal than those two having a go at each other?

"So...where'd you get the bear?"

"Huh?"

"That big plushie. Who's is it?"

"It's mine, moron."

"Who got it for you?"

"A friend."

"You mean, a boyfriend."

Kagura looked at Tomo in shock. A million thoughts all kicked into high gear simultaneously. _How am I supposed to respond to that? I guess it's a good thing that she's clueless about me and Sakaki, but how the hell am I supposed to get away from this one without explaining to her the whole story? _Tomo took Kagura's gawking face as confirmation of what she had just said. She smiled smugly, pushing forward.

"So? Who is it? I never see you talk to any of the guys at school. Does he go to our school?"

"I don't have a boyfriend, numbnut."

"Then who would get you that big ass teddy bear?"

"A friend did."

"A boyfriend."

"No! Just a friend. As a get well gift."

"A friend who is a boy?"

Kagura shook her head. She couldn't believe how dense this kid could be. "No. Just a friend. Only a friend." Tomo gave Kagura a skeptical look, but before she could continue to pry, Sakaki came down off the stairs and into the living room. Kagura silently thanked every god she could think of. Sakaki could sure be a lifesaver.

"Hey, Sakaki! When'd you get here?"

"Just now. The door was wide open..."

Wow, now she could lie too? Kagura grinned. Sakaki was good. She'd fool the wildcat for sure.

"Heh, guess that would have been my doing. Kagura, go shut your door."

"Go do it yourself!"

Sakaki spoke up quietly. "It's okay. I already closed it."

There was a knock at the door, probably signaling the arrival of Yomi, Chiyo, and Osaka. Sakaki went and answered it for the athlete, knowing very well that she could not get up and do it for herself at the moment. She knew Kagura's knee must have been bothering her, since it took her so long to go get the medicine. The bottle resided in Sakaki's pocket. She decided she would give it to Kagura once they started the movie. She opened the door and let the three latecomers in, leading them all into the living room. When they got there, they were met with a messy sight. The duo had managed to pull every one of Kagura's movies off of their shelves, and they were proceeding to go through each, deciding whether or not to watch it. The definite discards were thrown carelessly around the room, while the maybes were stacked into neat piles surrounding the pair. They both looked up with innocent looks. Sakaki just stared, starting to pick up after the girls. Osaka and Chiyo helped, while Yomi sighed and shook her head at Tomo. The two began fighting, while Sakaki helped Kagura up off the floor.

"Hey, you two! Whenever you're done fighting, we can start the movie! Sound good to you or what?" Kagura yelled at Yomi and Tomo from the couch. They stopped fighting long enough for them to put in the movie and settle on the floor. Sakaki sat beside Kagura on the couch, who sat on the end. Chiyo sat on Sakaki's other side, while Osaka claimed a recliner for herself. Yomi got up and shut off the lights, leaving only the glow of the TV to light the room. Sakaki took the darkness as a chance to give Kagura her meds. She lightly nudged the girl, holding out the bottle. Kagura took it gratefully.

"Thanks, Sakaki." She whispered as she took the pills. She scooted slightly closer to the girl, closing the gap between them, but that's all she dared to do. As far as either of them knew, none of the girls knew about their relationship. Kagura wouldn't mind telling at least someone about it; she wanted to be able to share all of her good times with Sakaki with someone else. She knew she couldn't tell Chiyo; the young prodigy, while smart, probably wouldn't get it. Tomo was also out of the question. She'd undoubtedly spread the news to everyone and their mother. Osaka was a risk; the girl was spacey, and would either forget everything Kagura would tell her, or she'd let everything slip. That only left Yomi in their group of friends, but Kagura wasn't even very good friends with Yomi to begin with, so she was out as well.

Sakaki had not been focusing on the movie either. She had felt Kagura press up against her side, snuggling in there. She blushed, but not from the contact. She was concerned with her surroundings. What if the others saw? She was not ashamed of her relationship with Kagura; in fact, things had been going very well for the two of them. But she was unsure about what their friends would say or think. Sakaki would rather keep the relationship a secret for a while longer. She felt Kagura's head on her shoulder, and shot her a look. Not here, not now. But she relaxed when she saw that the girl had simply fallen asleep. She hadn't meant to put her head there. She smiled a little, then refocused on the movie.

Once the film had reached its conclusion, the girls decided it best for everyone to head out. Most had fallen asleep at one point or another during the movie, especially Chiyo and Kagura. When the movie had ended, Sakaki had both girls sleeping soundly on her; Kagura on her shoulder and Chiyo on her lap. She silently and gently woke both girls from their slumber. Kagura walked the other five to the door.

"Well, thanks for coming over guys. It was good to see you."

"No problem, numbnut! See you Monday?" Tomo flashed a smile.

"Yeah, I'll be back then."

"That's good. That means the doctors did a good job and didn't lose any of their tools in your knee..." Osaka said with a spacey look glazing over her eyes.

"We wish you a speedy recovery, Miss Kagura!" Chiyo chimed in.

"Yeah, feel better soon, Kagura." Yomi added.

Sakaki just nodded.

"Thanks, everyone! Catch you all on Monday, then." Kagura said as she let them all out. As suspected, Sakaki lingered a bit, telling the rest to head on out without her, as she forgot her bag inside. The couple made their way back into the living room, watching the others head home. Sakaki had her back to Kagura, looking for where she had left her stuff. Kagura snuck up behind her and wrapped her arms around Sakaki's waist, pulling her into a tight hug. She snuggled her face into Sakaki's back and pressed against her as much as possible, making Sakaki blush. Kagura mumbled something into Sakaki's neck.

"Thanks for everything this weekend. You're the best, you know that?"

Sakaki took Kagura's hands off her waist and turned to face the girl, keeping hold of them. She let one go to stroke Kagura's face gently, staring into her deep, brown eyes. Sakaki leaned down, using her free hand to lightly cup Kagura's chin and tilt it upwards. The couple shared a short kiss. They broke free from one another, lost in each others' gaze. Kagura grinned.

"And you just made your case even stronger."

Sakaki smiled. "Love you."

"Love you too."


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Hello again! I haven't said this in a while, so I just wanted to take a quick moment to say thanks to those who have help make this story what it is. You know who you are. Also, thanks to those who have followed/favorited/reviewed. You're all appreciated! Now, enough of me and more of the story!**

The school year was coming to an end. Summer was right around the corner. Summer was meant for swimming, for hanging out on the beach, and for enjoying the company of those closest to you. However, this summer was going to have another focus as well; studying for entrance exams. College plans were already in the process for most; a few stragglers still had no idea what they were doing.

Kagura was one of those people.

Since the knee injury, Kagura didn't have a clue about her chances of making it to school on a scholarship. Would the schools still take her, even if she had to sit a season? Her grades were considerably better than they had been before, with Sakaki's help. In fact, even though they weren't the best, Kagura found that she might even be able to make it into a few schools with her current grades. But they weren't the schools she wanted to go to. She wanted to be able to compete. She spent a lot of time weighing her possibilities before realizing that she couldn't figure this out alone. She wondered about who to ask for advice. Not Chiyo-chan; she was heading off to America, and Kagura knew she had zero chance of going overseas. Not Tomo; the wildcat was hell bent on making it to a police academy, and Kagura had no ambition to become a cop. Not Yomi; she just cared about grades. Athletics weren't a factor in her decision. Same went for Osaka. Kagura thought about asking Sakaki, but figured that even Sakaki wouldn't be a particularly good person to talk to about this. Sakaki already had a plan of action for after high school. She'd go to school, become a vet, and take care of the animals that she loved so much. Kagura smiled at the thought. It was the best match for the job possible. Sakaki would take great care of all of the animals, and she'd love every second of it. Kagura tried to think of something that she'd love to do for the rest of her life. She tried to think of jobs that would include sports. Athletic trainer, sports team management, coach...wait, coach!

_That's it! I'll just go talk to Coach tomorrow about options for after high school. Who knows, maybe she can recommend me a good university that will take me to compete too!_

The next day, Ms. Kurosawa and Kagura stood on the sidelines during gym class, while they watched the rest of the class playing volleyball. Kagura wanted nothing more than to just jump in the middle of it all and start playing again, but she realized that that wasn't an option. On her way out of class, she got Ms. Kurosawa's attention.

"Hey, Coach?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we could meet after school a little bit today? I wanna talk to you about college plans."

"Yes, of course. I'll meet you in my office right after school. Does that work for you?"

"Yepp, sure does. See you then."

"Yeah. Goodbye, Kagura."

At the end of the day, Kagura crutched into Nyamo's office.

_Damn these things. I can't wait until I'm out of them._ She thought. She could be off the crutches fairly soon, walking with just the brace. She looked forward to that day. But for now, she had to focus on one thing; her school of choice. She was met in the office by Nyamo sitting at her desk, reading some article in the newspaper. When she heard her student enter the office, Nyamo put down the paper and motioned for Kagura to take a seat in the chair next to her.

"So, finally figured it out, huh?"

"What do you mean, Coach?"

"That you're going to have to pick out a university sometime or later."

Kagura laughed a bit and scratched the back of her head nervously. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Do you have any in particular that you're already considering?"

Kagura thought about it a bit. Sakaki had told her about a school with a well known veterinarian program that wasn't too far from a university with a very strong athletic program. That had everything she wanted, right? A school where she could compete, and still see Sakaki a fair amount. She told Nyamo that this is where she wanted to go.

"I see. You know, your grades will have to get even better if you want to go there."

"I know. And they will get better."

"I don't doubt it. You've shown a lot of improvement lately."

"Thanks, Coach. Sakaki's been a big help."

"Sakaki?"

"Oh yeah. She's been tutoring me. She makes me do my homework." Kagura made a face, which Nyamo laughed at. She realized that the school Kagura had mentioned was close to the school with the big vet program. It sounded like she was trying to stay close to Sakaki, which intrigued Nyamo. She had been aware that the two had become very good friends over the course of the year. However, one thing stuck out in her mind, causing her to wonder the extent of the friendship; the day that Kagura had torn her ACL. How Sakaki had burst into the training room right after the accident, the way Kagura had stuck her hand out the window, and Sakaki had held on to it as if the moment she let go, Kagura would be gone for good, and the look on Sakaki's usually emotionless face when they had pulled out of the parking lot. All of these actions, albeit subtle, were enough to make Nyamo ponder the exact relationship between the girls. Were they just friends, or was there something more that she wasn't seeing?

"Well, at least someone can get you to do your work. But what will you do when you go off to separate colleges? I know you're not striving to get into vet school."

"Can't say that I am. But I mean, I can stay on track with my grades. She helps me with that, but if I have to go off to school by myself, I think I could handle it. But, thinking about it now, I would like to stay kind of close to her. You know, in case I need a reality check here and there."

"You know, Kagura, you won't always have Sakaki around to keep you in line. You're both going to grow up, take different paths. She won't be around forever."

Those words hit Kagura like a ton of bricks to the stomach. The possibility of Sakaki and her not being together in a year was a very real, very scary thing. Kagura knew that she could manage being on her own, but she'd rather be with Sakaki. In fact, there was no one else she'd rather be with. Kagura tried to quickly come up with a solution to the obstacle staring her in the face. She couldn't go to vet school, and Sakaki wouldn't go anywhere other than a vet school. So going to the same school was out of the question. Going to close schools was a possibility, but even then, how much time would they have for each other?

Nyamo saw the shock, the gears whirling in Kagura's head as she tried to figure out how to make this work out. The amount of concern Kagura showed about staying close to Sakaki was surprising. Her curiosity was starting to get the best of her, but she tried to remain professional. She had no right to ask Kagura about hers and Sakaki's relationship.

"I...I know she can't take care of me all throughout college. I can manage myself. I worry about her though."

"Why? Sakaki's a bright, young woman. Why would you be worried?"

"Because she's my gir-" Kagura choked on her words. "Best friend. She's my best friend. Why wouldn't I worry about her?" _Fuck! I can't believe I just almost said that! Yeah, let's tell Coach that Sakaki and I are a couple. That's a great fucking plan._

As Kagura continued to beat herself up on the inside, Nyamo's suspicions were nearly confirmed. So, Kagura and Sakaki were a couple? She had to admit it, she was a bit surprised. She had never thought of either of the girls like that. But then again, she was happy for them. They may have been a bit of an odd couple, but she was glad that they both had found each other.

"Fair enough. She seems to worry about you a lot as well."

"Umm...what? What do you mean, Coach?"

It was Nyamo's turn to stutter. She hadn't meant to say that. She was supposed to be a teacher, a coach, a mentor. That didn't include asking her athletes and students about their relationship status. Hopefully, she could avert the crisis.

"I was just thinking about the day of the track meet when you...you know. Sakaki was awfully protective of you. She must be a very good friend of yours."

Kagura blushed, remembering the day vividly. She remembered the way that Sakaki had looked at her. It was the most emotion she had seen on the girl's face...well, ever. She was so worried that Kagura was afraid she'd faint. "Oh yeah...umm yeah, she's a worry wart. That's all." Kagura was worried that this conversation was about to take a turn into territory that she couldn't come back from. Although, maybe telling Coach wouldn't be that bad. She knew she could trust her to keep it between the two of them; Sakaki wouldn't even have to know. However, she was going to keep their secret until Nyamo asked directly. No need to tell if she wasn't asking.

"Really? I can't say I imagined Sakaki to be worrisome. But now that you say it, I can definitely see it."

"Yeah, she's a bit protective. She came to my house the day after the surgery to visit and wouldn't let me do anything for myself."

Nyamo laughed at the statement, seeing how Kagura's strong, independent nature would clash with Sakaki's worrisome, protective one. Nyamo spoke without thinking, regretting the words that came out of her mouth the second she had said them.

"I could see that. You two make a funny couple."

Kagura's face flushed a brilliant crimson, the blush reaching out from her nose to her cheeks. Nyamo stuttered, trying to recover the already deteriorating conversation. The two spoke quickly, and at the same time.

"I-I-I-I didn't mean that. I meant..."

"I-ah, umm...how did you know?"

The both froze, locked in a staring contest, faces both covered in ferocious blushes. Kagura averted her gaze, looking down at her feet, fidgeting nervously.

"How...how did you guess?"

"I, uh, well..."

Nyamo relayed her suspicions to Kagura, making sure to note that it was the day of the meet that she had began to wonder if the two were more than just friends. Kagura sat quietly, listening to her coach retell the story. After Nyamo had finished, the two sat in an awkward silence. Kagura rubbed the back of her head, and looked sheepishly up at Nyamo.

"So, uh...you're not gonna tell anyone, right? Sakaki still wants to keep it to ourselves for a while."

"I wouldn't tell anyone about this. Not unless you said I could."

"Thanks, Coach. So...I mean, you're okay with it?"

"Kagura, this is your decision, and if you're happy with it, then I have no right to interfere. You have my full support. I have to ask though; do your parents know?"

Kagura shook her head. She had no idea how her parents would react if she told them that she was dating, let alone another girl. She didn't have a very strong bond with them anyways, what with them always working. She figured that if they ever needed to know, she'd tell them then.

"I see." Nyamo continued. "Well, it's not exactly my place, but please know that if you two ever need anything, maybe someone to talk to, considering the unconventional situation you're in, that I'm here for the both of you."

Kagura relaxed significantly. She had always looked up to and respected her coach, especially with all the help she had given her over the years on the swim and track teams. To have her support in her relationship was even more important than her real parents' approval. "Thanks, Coach. That...that means a lot." She glanced at the clock, noting that she had already missed the first bus home, and was close to missing the second. She realized how hopeless it would be to try and catch the bus now, groaning at the thought of the long walk home.

"What's the matter?"

"I missed the bus."

Nyamo just laughed. "Don't worry, I can give you a lift. Besides, weren't we supposed to be talking about college options? Not you and a special someone?"

Kagura grinned. "Yeah, we were, huh? Thanks Coach."

The two walked out to Nyamo's car, speaking about colleges, degrees, and grades. After being dropped off, Kagura felt much more certain, more confident that no matter what happened, everything was going to work out.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Hey all! Just a heads up, we've got a short chapter this week, so I'll probably update again this weekend. That's about it. Read, review, enjoy!**

"YEAH! Go Yukari, go!"

Yukari let out a wild shout as she gunned the engine, speeding out of Chiyo's driveway, with Tomo in the front seat, egging her on. Meanwhile, Kagura and Sakaki sat in the back, clinging to each other for dear life. They were headed off to Chiyo's summer home, as tradition. School had let out a few weeks earlier. Kagura was finally off crutches, walking with the support of the brace. She had been thrilled when she had gotten the good news that she'd be off the crutches before the gang went to Chiyo's summer home. However, she wasn't sure if she'd live to enjoy the lazy days at the beach house. She didn't know how Sakaki managed taking the Yukarimobile every trip to the house. She always volunteered, much to the relief of the other girls.

_Well, if I'm going to die, at least it will be quick. And I've got Sakaki here with me._

The Yukarimobile came to a screeching halt in front of the beach house. Sakaki sat holding a shaking Kagura in the backseat, worried that the trip had been a little much for the girl. She slowly helped her out of the car. Kagura's knee, stiff from the ride out, was giving the athlete zero support. She tried to take a step, and almost fell flat on her face. Sakaki caught her by the arms, hoisting the girl back up onto her good leg.

"I can carry you, if you want."

"I can handle it. Just shaky from the car ride." Kagura said as she went to take another step, getting a little further this time, but still nearly falling. Sakaki caught her again, and looked down at the girl, who smiled meekly up at her.

"Maybe...maybe I need a little help."

Sakaki smiled back down at her, then allowed Kagura to climb up on her back. The two made their way into the house, where Sakaki set Kagura down on the couch. But not before Tomo could see the two of them.

"Yoooooomiiiiiiiiii..." she whined, "why don't you ever give me piggy backs?"

"Because you're too old for piggybacks."

"But Kagura got one from Sakaki! Say, Sakaki, mind giving me a ride?"

"You don't need a piggy back." Yomi retorted, shaking her head a bit.

Tomo continued to whine. "Yomi, loosen up a bit. We're at the beach house, remember? So whatever you've got shoved up your ass, you can take it out now."

Yomi looked at Tomo, a dangerous glint shining off of her glasses. The rest of the girls looked on as the two proceeded to engage in a combat of cheek-pulling.

"How about we move our stuff up to our room?" Kagura suggested, tired of watching the two fight. Sakaki nodded in agreement, and grabbed both hers and Kagura's bags. They made their way up the stairs and into one of the spare rooms. Sakaki set the luggage down in the corner of the room, while Kagura stood in the middle of the room. Sakaki made her way over to the girl, lightly brushing a hand over Kagura's. The athlete looked up and smiled at Sakaki. The tall girl leaned down to give her a quick kiss on the forehead, but that wasn't enough for Kagura. She pulled Sakaki down into a deeper, more passionate kiss. The two were absorbed in their own little world, until they were abruptly yanked back into reality.

"Ahem."

The two jumped apart as if they had been burned. Kagura stumbled backwards, falling onto the futon that lay on the ground. She stuttered like mad, making noises, but no words. Sakaki turned the color of ripe tomatoes, staring at the wall with a blank stare, playing with her sleeves. Nyamo stood in the doorway, arms crossed, with the look of a scolding mother evident on her face.

"C-c-c-coach! How long were you, umm, there?"

"Long enough."

Kagura rubbed the back of her head nervously as she looked at Nyamo. It had been a few weeks since she had told her about her relationship with Sakaki, and not a word had been said about it since. Sakaki had backed away from the doorway, trying her best to blend into the wall. Nyamo had noticed how embarrassed she had gotten, and took pity on her by not once looking her way. But that didn't mean she wouldn't come down on Kagura. She felt bad about interrupting the moment, but it was necessary. _They should be glad it was me instead of Yukari or Tomo,_ she thought to herself.

"Kagura. Downstairs. Now." Nyamo commanded, sounding just like she did when she was about to chew Kagura out at practice.

_Well, shit. _Kagura thought. _I'm really about to get it._ She stood up slowly, with Sakaki's help. She hobbled out of the room, falling into step behind Nyamo. Sakaki stood alone in the room. She walked across the room to the window, where she let her head fall against the glass. It was her worst fear come true. Someone had seen them. She had wanted to tell their friends about the good news of them being together, but she wanted to make sure that they'd accept it before telling. Now someone knew. And what was worse, she had no idea what Nyamo was saying to Kagura. She looked out the window down at the beach, waiting for Kagura to return.

Nyamo took Kagura to the kitchen. She looked outside at the rest of the girls unpacking the van she had driven up. Once she was certain that they were all outside, she sat down across the table from a still embarrassed Kagura.

"Look, I didn't mean to ruin the moment..."

"Coach, just, just hold up a second. Before you bring the hammer down on me." Nyamo stopped mid-sentence, allowing the athlete to continue. "I, uh, well, thanks. We were getting a bit carried away. I'm glad it was you that saw us instead of someone else."

"I wanted to talk to you about that, actually. Do the rest of your friends know yet?" Kagura shook her head. "Well then, you two might want to reconsider, ahem, doing that with each other while they're around." Kagura nodded. "You know, that would be a rough way to tell them about your relationship."

"I know."

"Kagura, you know I'm not mad, right? I'm just trying to look out for the two of you."

"I know."

"Have you considered telling them?"

"I have."

"And?"

"I haven't talked to Sakaki about it. It's gotta be the right time, when we're both ready. You know?"

"Understandable. But you may want to do it sooner than later."

"Yeah, I get it."

"Good. Now I'll let you go check on Sakaki. Don't take too long, or I will come back up there."

"Got it, Coach. Thanks."

Kagura stood up from the table and limped her way out to the living room, then back up the stairs, to the room that Sakaki hadn't left, still standing by the window. She whirled around at the sound of Kagura limping into the room. Kagura noticed the faint blush remaining on her face, her brows slightly creased. Worried, as expected. The tall girl stood still as the athlete walked over to her at the window. She took her hand loosely, to soothe her, and flashed a large, real smile.

"What...what did she say?"

"Don't worry. Coach is fine. But hey, I wanna get down to the water, and I'd rather tell you the full story when we've got time to sit and chat for a while. Can we talk about it later?"

She was confused, but Sakaki still nodded. She'd rather hear the whole thing now, but it wouldn't kill her not to know at the moment. She still had one question though.

"Did she...does anyone..."

"No one else knows yet. She said she'd leave that to us."

Sakaki let out a breath of relief. That had been a close call.

"So, we should probably go meet up with the rest of the gang right now. I bet they're ready to hit up the beach too!"

Sakaki nodded in agreement. The two left the room, meeting the rest of the group in the living room, looking forward to forgetting their little mishap and enjoying an afternoon in the sun.


	23. Chapter 23

The beach seemed to be calling the girls as the whole gang made their way down to the beach. Beach towels were laid out, umbrellas poked into the sand, inner tubes inflated, and cans of juice cracked open. Kagura lay out on a blanket in her bathing suit, soaking up the sun's rays. She had taken off the brace, enjoying the feeling of freedom it gave her. She knew better than to be out running around with the rest of the girls, but that didn't stop her from wanting to get up and goof around. The water especially was inviting, much to her displeasure. However, as much as she wanted to be smashing watermelons with Tomo or floating out on the water with Sakaki, she settled for the next best thing by laying on the beach. Her dark sunglasses covered her eyes, hiding the fact that she was slowly drifting off for an afternoon nap. She was an inch from sleep before she was awoken. And rather rudely, at that.

"KAGURA! Wake up, you bum! Sleep's for the weak!" Tomo shouted in Kagura's ear. Kagura sprang to her senses and flailed wildly, surprised by the wildcat's uncharacteristically stealthy approach. Unfortunately, she managed to connect with Tomo's face in the process. She felt her fist come into contact with her cheek, right below her eye. Tomo stumbled back in shock, one hand held to her face, the other wind milling frantically as she tried to regain her balance. She tripped over Kagura's brace, falling backwards. In a spectacular display, she managed to knock out the umbrella poked into the sand, which proceed to come crashing down on an unsuspecting Yukari's big toe; the teacher let out a string of curses that the girls didn't even know existed, and chucked the can of soda she was holding in her fit of rage. The unopened soda arched high in the air, somersaulting as it went. It flew towards the edge of the water where Osaka and Chiyo were making an extravagant sand castle. The soda landed squarely in the middle of the structure and burst open, spraying soda on the innocent girls. Both screamed in surprise, neither one sure where the can had come from. Sakaki and Yomi, floating on inner tubes near the shore, watched the whole thing transpire. Yomi got a good laugh out of it; Sakaki did not. In fact, she barely had registered what had happened. She stared aimlessly at the beach, sometimes focusing on Kagura, others focused on Nyamo. Being caught by their gym teacher was not the way anyone was supposed to find out about their relationship. She trusted Nyamo not to tell; not sober anyways. She hoped that Yukari hadn't smuggled any booze along with her this year. But the thing that disturbed her most though was Kagura's lack of concern. Sure, she was embarrassed that they had been caught, but anyone would be. When she came back to the room, she was calm, in a good mood even. It was like she didn't even care. Sakaki didn't know what to make of it. She continued to float, lost in her thoughts, until the waves brought her back in.

Later that night, Tomo sat on the couch with an ice pack held up to her face. Kagura had really gotten her good, and there was no chance of Tomo getting away from this little accident without a big black eye. Yomi sat next to her, chuckling every time the girl would let out a whimper. The girls had come back to the cabin for the night, hungry and tired. They ate a quick dinner, and everyone headed straight for bed, knowing that the next day would be filled with even more excitement. Kagura and Sakaki silently made their way to the room they were sharing. Kagura shut the door quietly, while Sakaki made her futon. Kagura looked at the girl in wonder. Sakaki didn't notice, keeping her back to the athlete.

"What are you doing?"

"Setting up my futon."

"There's already one made."

"That's yours."

"Mine?" Sakaki nodded, still not turning to look at her. "Alright then." Kagura was hurt. She thought that by this point, Sakaki wouldn't mind sharing a futon with her. She wanted to wrap her arms up around the tall girl, to snuggle with her until they both fell asleep. But no such thing would be happening tonight. Kagura tried her best not to pout as she crawled into her futon alone. Sakaki must have a good reason for her actions. With the lights off, the pair started to quickly doze off. "Goodnight, Sakaki."

"Goodnight, Kagura."

"Love you."

"Hmm. Love you." Kagura noticed the hesitation in Sakaki's response. Something had seemed off about the girl since their little run-in with Nyamo. She wondered why Sakaki was making a big deal about it. It was just Coach, and she didn't even mind. In fact, she supported them. She probably supported them more than their own families would. Kagura soon fell into a restless slumber, thoughts of what was troubling Sakaki's mind plaguing her own.

Sakaki rolled over onto her side, then to her back, then back to her side. She hadn't gotten a minute of sleep, and it was already 2:00 am. All she wanted to do was sleep, but that wasn't going to happen any time soon. Not when she kept thinking of how Kagura was so at ease with the events of the afternoon. Sakaki felt a little hurt. She thought Kagura and her would talk about revealing their relationship to their friends. Sure, prior events were an accident. Kagura hadn't told Nyamo outright about them. But they were supposed to talk about this sort of thing, make the decisions together, weren't they? Sakaki wished that she could have been in the room when Nyamo and Kagura had gone downstairs without her. That was the kind of thing they were supposed to do together. She tossed over again, confused by the feelings of betrayal and disappointment welled up inside her.

Both girls awoke early the next day, dark bags visible under puffy, sleep-deprived eyes. Kagura tried to fall back to sleep, burying her face in her pillow and covering her head with her blanket. Sakaki, on the other hand, chose to get up and get ready for the day. She took her time picking out clothes, brushing her hair, and going through the rest of her morning routine. She went downstairs and walked out onto the balcony, looking out over the beach. She sat down on the deck, dangling her feet off over the edge. She sat there for a bit, letting the early morning sun wash over her, having a moment of peace that she hadn't felt since the day before. She heard movements inside in the house, signaling to her that the others were waking up. She faintly heard the sliding door open, but chose to ignore it. However, she did turn and smile when she heard a familiar, cheery voice.

"Oh! Good morning, Miss Sakaki! You're up early!"

"Morning, Chiyo. What are you doing up?"

"Oh, I'm just up for my morning exercises. Care to join?"

"Sure." Sakaki stood up next to the small genius, who pressed play on her tiny radio, starting the music. They did the warm up stretches and got right into the routine. Sakaki watched Chiyo, picking up the moves as they went. Sakaki found herself in a better mood as they continued to stretch with the music, and by the time they were finished, she was considerably less stressed, not thinking about the day before. She and Chiyo sat back down on the balcony, staring out at the ocean.

"So, Miss Sakaki, are you having a good time?"

"Yeah, I am. Thanks for inviting us again this year."

"Of course! It's always a lot of fun when you all come up here."

Sakaki nodded in agreement. She continued to stare out over the waves. Slowly, thoughts about how she had floated in its waters the day before crept back into her thoughts. And with those, thoughts about Kagura came back too. She didn't even hear Chiyo trying to get her to come back to reality until the little girl tugged on her sleeve.

"Miss Sakaki? Are you alright?"

"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About?"

"Lots of things."

"Are you worried about something?"

Sakaki looked down at the girl. She was so different from herself; small and outgoing, and easy to read. She could clearly see how concerned the girl was, her face giving everything she was feeling at the moment. Sakaki did not want to lie to Chiyo, but she didn't see how she couldn't. She couldn't tell Chiyo about Kagura, or the kiss, or how Nyamo had caught them. She couldn't tell her about how she felt betrayed, hurt by the girl she loved. Instead, she lied.

"Oh, just thinking about entrance exams. I really want to get into a good vet school."

She wasn't kidding, either. She was somewhat worried about getting into the school of her choice. Her grades were good enough. She just needed a good score on the test. She figured that Chiyo would be able to better understand this kind of stress, rather than the real pressing issue at hand.

"Oh! Don't worry about it. You're so smart, those schools would be crazy not to accept you!"

Sakaki gave Chiyo a small, if not sad smile, and nodded again. By now, the sun was high in the sky, and the rest of the group, minus Yukari, should be getting up soon. Chiyo stood up and stretched.

"Well, I should go get breakfast ready! Would you like to help?"

Sakaki stood up and gave a short nod, following Chiyo into the kitchen to make something to eat for the rest of the girls and herself.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Kagura was burying her face as far into the pillow as it would go. She grumbled as the relentless sun beat through the window, directly onto her pillow. Unable to fall back asleep, she rolled off the futon onto the floor, sprawling across the carpet. She looked across the room and saw Sakaki's empty, neatly made futon. _Too bad, _she thought, _she was gonna get a real nice wakeup call if she had still been asleep._ She groggily got dressed in her clothes for the day and went downstairs, following the smell of omelets that was wafting to her room from the kitchen.

Sakaki and Chiyo busied themselves in the kitchen, making omelets for everyone. Sakaki's mind wandered as she cooked one for herself. She thought of the day that she had spent the night with Kagura, and how the athlete had tried to make a nice breakfast for the two of them, but had failed, destroying the kitchen in the process. She was brought back to her senses by the smell of burning eggs.

"Oh! Miss Sakaki! Your omelet!"

"Oh." She looked down at the burnt omelet. "I'll take care of it." She tossed the omelet out in the trash and cleaned the pan, getting ready to make another. The rest of the girls had began filing into the kitchen, following their noses to the aroma of eggs downstairs. Chiyo and Sakaki had a plate stacked high of omelets sitting on the counter, and as they passed, each girl grabbed an omelet. A few good mornings were exchanged between the girls who were awake enough to be pleasant; namely Yomi, Chiyo, and Sakaki. Tomo struggled through the line, eyes still closed, although no one could tell if one of them was closed from being tired or from the swelling on her black eye. Osaka walked through, not acknowledging a single greeting. Kagura came through last, and said good morning to Chiyo and Sakaki. Chiyo returned the greeting in her usual, merry way, and Sakaki returned the greeting in what would be typical Sakaki fashion; a small nod and a quiet "good morning." Kagura, on the other hand, was taken aback by it. Usually Sakaki was more friendly, warmer towards her than most of the girls. To get a generic response was a bit disappointing to her. She sat down and played with her breakfast idly, wondering what she had done wrong to deserve to get put in the dog house like this.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Oops. Missed Thursday. Here's a couple of chapters to make up for it. Before moving on, thanks again to all of you who have reviewed, followed, favorited, etc. You're all awesome. Also, shout out to raro6511, Lewism333, and RedSaltire for helping me work out the kinks in the story before posting. For those who haven't, go check out their stories! Well, that's all. Read, review, enjoy!**

The rest of their time at the summer house was a blast for the girls. They went to the beach, lit fireworks, stayed up late telling scary stories, laughing at the not so scary ones, and in general, enjoyed their time together. Sakaki was able to cast aside her concerns, figuring that Kagura would talk to her when they had more time, and more privacy. The trip came to an end all too quickly, and before they all knew it, they were back in their own homes, studying for entrance exams.

Or, at least they should have been. Kagura, on the other hand, spent her time trying to avoid studying. She busied herself with her physical therapy exercises, trying to gain more and more strength each day. The good news was, she was mostly off her crutches, except for days that she knew she'd be on her feet a lot. She had her good days, the days that she felt great, walking without so much as a slight limp. But with the good came the bad. Some days, she could hardly bear to roll out of bed. Usually, she brought these days upon herself from trying to do too much as the therapy sessions the day before. But pushing herself to her limits was second nature to the athlete. There was no reason she shouldn't try and exceed the maximum range of motion, or do a few more repetitions of her favorite exercises. The recovery process was something that took focus. And that focus was welcome, since she had a lot on her mind most of the time. Aside from the exercises, she now had more time on her hands than she knew what to do with. She passed the hours not spent trying to recover playing games, and when the games held no further challenge for her, she simply laid around the house. More times than not, she found herself with too much free time. Her thoughts would wander to things she couldn't figure out, and therefore did not want to think about. She didn't want to think about her grades, or what schools she should apply to, or if she was going to get a scholarship. And when she thought of Sakaki, she thought about how the girl had started to become more shy around her again. None of it made sense. And when it didn't make sense, Kagura tried to avoid it.

One afternoon, Kagura found herself bored out of her mind, like usual. She was tired of hanging out around her house all day with no one to keep her company. She knew she shouldn't call Sakaki, even if it was just to hang out. She had studying to do, and she didn't want to disturb her. Instead, she picked up her phone and called someone that she knew she wasn't going to be bothering. Someone that wouldn't be studying, and that could possibly add a little excitement to her dull afternoon.

"Hmmm...what?" Tomo woke up from her nap and answered the phone groggily. She hadn't even bothered to look at the caller ID before picking up. She figured it was just Yomi, and she knew she could get away with being in a half-conscious state while talking to the girl.

"Hey moron. What are you up to right now? Wanna come over and hang out?"

Tomo put on a confused frown. Yomi didn't sound like that. And that's not how she talked on the phone. "Who...who's this?"

"Tomo. Are you still asleep?"

"Who is this?"

"Kagura."

"Kagura?"

"Yes, now get up. We're gonna hang out. You can come over and try and beat me at that new racing game."

"Video games and a challenge? Why didn't you say so!" Tomo popped out of bed like a jack in the box, instantly awake and ready to go. "I'll be at your place in 20!" Tomo snapped the phone shut, effectively ending the call. Kagura grinned. She knew she could count on Tomo to bring some energy to her otherwise lazy afternoon.

25 minutes later, Kagura's doorbell buzzed. She opened the door to reveal a grinning Tomo, standing there looking like an idiot.

"You're late."

"Time is a relative thing, Kagura. Now where's your Playstation?"

The two girls headed up to Kagura's room, where they proceeded to waste the afternoon racing. The wildcat took a seat on the floor, leaning against Kagura's bed, while the latter sat on her bed, feet propped up on her desk. Tomo was surprisingly good at the game, and was even able to beat Kagura a few times. There were cheers of joy, curses directed at the game and at each other, and the occasional controller thrown at the other in frustration. After one particularly close loss, Tomo jumped from her seat and stood in front of the television, pointing and screaming obscenities at the athlete.

"You're a no good, rotten, cheating moron!"

"Would you calm down? Sit down and play the game!"

"Yeah right! Like I'm going to let your cheating ass beat me again!"

The two began another race, but this time, Tomo had a plan. There was no way Kagura could beat her if she pulled this off. On the final lap, Tomo stood up and jumped in front of the television, effectively blocking Kagura's view of the screen. The athlete yelled out in anger, cussing at the wildcat for cheating. She stood up and took a swing at the wildcat's controller, trying to knock it out of her hands. Tomo held on with one hand, holding the controller high above her head, and planted her free hand against Kagura's chest and pushed backwards, sending her falling backwards towards the bed. As soon as she felt herself falling backwards, Kagura swiped at the air frantically, grabbing onto Tomo's shirt for dear life. Tomo was pulled over backwards, tossing the controller out the door in surprise. The two tumbled backwards onto the bed, where Tomo fell on top of Kagura. Kagura's face erupted into a full-blown blush as she felt the girl laying across her, noticing that their faces were very close together. She hurried to push her off, practically throwing the wildcat onto the floor. Tomo sat up, dazed.

"What the hell's your problem?"

"Mine? You're the one who cheated in the first place!"

"Yeah? Well, you didn't have to pull me down with you, then toss me on the ground!"

"You shouldn't have pushed me in the first place!" The two glowered at each other for a bit before Kagura spoke up again. "I can't be rough housing it with you like this right now. I could hurt myself."

Tomo's face went blank as she pondered Kagura's latest statement. "What do you mean? I think I'm in more danger than you. You're vicious!"

"You seem to forget that I happen to have a knee that's still recovering after having a ligament taken out and replaced by my own tissues."

"Oh!" Tomo had completely forgotten about the injury. "Shit! Did I land on it?"

"Yeah, you kinda did." Kagura was glad that she had a bit of an excuse. She had pushed Tomo off rather roughly, but only because she had been sprawled out on top of her

"You okay?"

Kagura looked at the girl sitting on her floor. She couldn't have heard her right. Was she actually being considerate and asking if Kagura was alright? There was no way that she had just said that.

"Yeah?"

"Good. Now go get my fucking controller. You made me throw it clear out the door, and I still want to play."

Kagura rolled her eyes. That was more like it. Nevertheless, she went and got her controller for her. She handed it to her and retook her spot on her bed, starting another race.


	25. Chapter 25

Summer continued to fly by, leaving only a week before school started up again, forcing the girls to the books. Some stayed focused, like Chiyo and Sakaki, while others, like Kagura and Tomo, found themselves playing Playstation 3 games all afternoon and going to movies in the evenings. Kagura noticed that she had been spending an awful lot of time with Tomo lately. It just seemed to fall into place for the two. Both Yomi and Sakaki were taking studying very seriously, which left Tomo and Kagura without their go-to hang out friends. They began hanging out more and more, until Kagura finally figured out that she had seen Tomo every day of the week, while her and Sakaki had only spoken briefly over the phone. They had began growing distant since they had gotten back from the summer home. Each conversation followed the same pattern. Kagura would call, ask Sakaki if she were up to hanging out, and would end with Sakaki stating that she had studying to do, effectively ending conversation. She admired Sakaki's drive for academics, and truthfully, she was even a little jealous that she herself couldn't find the focus like Sakaki had. However, while she knew the girl was studying hard, being rejected night after night was starting to take its toll on Kagura.

One afternoon, Kagura came back from the doctor's in a foul mood. She had had two days of physical therapy in a row, and neither were kind to her. The day before, she had pushed herself to her max, and woke up this morning feeling the aftereffects. She had forgotten that she had another couple of days of it. Needless to say, by the time she had gotten home, she was pretty grumpy, her legs burning, even though she had finished her work out a while ago. She wanted nothing better than to call up Sakaki, put in a movie, curl up into her side, and sleep the soreness away, but she knew what Sakaki would be doing. _But she could use a little break here and there, right?_ Kagura thought to herself. She picked up the phone and dialed her number. Sakaki wasn't the best at answering the phone, but she managed to pick up on what would have been the last ring before going to voicemail.

"Hello, Kagura."

"Hey, Sakaki! How's it going?"

"I'm okay. How about you?"

"Sore. The guy running my physical therapy session today was a total asshole. He told me that I shouldn't mess with the settings on my brace. I told him he could shove the brace..."

"Kagura."

"Sorry. He just really pissed me off. But hey, what're you up to tonight?"

"I have to study."

"Aw, c'mon now. I know you've been studying all day. Can't you spare a few hours to hang out with me?"

"Kagura, I really shouldn't..."

"We never hang out anymore."

It was true. Sakaki missed the athlete very much, but she had been very focused on her studies lately. Kagura...had not. She wished that the athlete would just sit down and study for a half an hour a day. It would help her so much. A thought crossed her mind. Maybe she could get the girl to study if they did it together.

"You could come study with me."

"I'd rather blow out my other knee." Silence. Apparently Sakaki didn't appreciate Kagura's joke. "I'm kidding. But seriously? You think I'm gonna study? My knee's getting better as we speak. At this rate, I'm gonna be better in time for swim season!"

"That's great, but..." Sakaki trailed off. She had been thinking a lot lately about Kagura and her injury. Statistically speaking, the chances of Kagura getting into school purely on scholarship right now weren't looking too good. And she wanted her to get into school, even if she couldn't compete.

"But what?"

"Don't you think...you're counting on these scholarships a little too much?"

"What're you saying, Sakaki?"

Sakaki could feel Kagura's temper rising even as she sat on the other end of the phone. She had gone too far to just drop the issue. She thought that maybe they could talk about this for a while, since they hadn't in about a week.

"I just think you should have a backup plan."

It was a simple suggestion. She didn't mean for it to blow up the way it did.

"You don't think I'm going to get better in time?"

"No, Kagura, I-"

"Forget it, Sakaki. I know I can get better. I'm going to get a scholarship."

Kagura hung up the phone. She hadn't expected to get mad at Sakaki. They hadn't talked in a while, and it had ended in Kagura's anger getting the better of her and hanging up without so much as a goodbye. But what was her deal, suggesting that they study? That she have a "back up" plan? Did she really think that Kagura wasn't going to get better in time to make a final impression on the scouts? That was out of the question. There was no way she wasn't going to compete her senior year. She sulked around her house for a bit until she calmed down enough to realize that she was without plans for the night. She couldn't stay in, not after that blow up she had at Sakaki. Instead, she picked up her phone and dialed another number.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Tomo. It's Kagura."

"I have caller ID, smart one."

"Don't get me started. Do you wanna go out or not?"

"Yeah, sure. Yomi's being boring anyways. All this studying and crap. Meet at the arcade?"

"You know it. See you 15."

Kagura hung up the phone, grabbed her stuff, and headed out the door to meet Tomo. She stood at the entrance to the building for 15 minutes, waiting for the wildcat to show up. 15 turned to 20, and 20 turned to 25 as Kagura waited for her. She had long since parked herself on a bench, scanning the crowd for her late friend. She thought about why she had called Tomo. Of all the people she could have called, she picked the hyperactive wildcat to hang out with. She didn't know why she tolerated her crazy behavior, let alone volunteer to be subject to it. But upon further reflection, she picked up on the reason. She wanted to hang out with someone who wanted to shoot at zombies at the arcade with her, someone with her same interests. The more she thought about it, the more similarities she saw between herself and the wildcat. They were both ridiculously competitive, even when they had no right to be. They valued a good laugh. They both had very serious friends to keep them in check. If Kagura had been a little more obnoxious and Tomo a bit more athletic, they would have almost been the same person. She was brought back to her senses by a face appearing inches away from hers. She jumped, startled by Tomo's sudden appearance, then as quickly as she had been surprised, her mood took a turn for the worse.

"Who the hell does that?"

"You'd do the same."

"Would not."

"You would if you had the chance. Now let's go. I'm ready to smash your high score."

Kagura grinned, unable to stay seriously mad at the wildcat. As annoying as she was, Kagura had to admit she kept things interesting and fun. They were pretty good friends, and even though she acted mad at her, her anger could never last. She followed her into the arcade after Tomo, where they proceeded to play game after game of first person shooters.

"Jeez, you really sucked tonight." Tomo said as they were exiting the arcade. It wasn't a false statement; Kagura was not on top of her game. She had lost round after round, when usually it was the other way around. As much as she was trying to enjoy herself, she just couldn't get her fight with Sakaki out of her head. She thought about what Sakaki had said to her, and regretted snapping at her. They were just suggestions. Sakaki had never said that she wasn't going to get the scholarship. She was just watching out for her, as always. The thoughts of the phone call flooded her mind, and had resulted in the multiple losses for the night.

"Hey, back off. I'm allowed to have an off night here and there."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've got your mind elsewhere."

"Nah, it was just a bad night. It happens."

"Yeah right." Tomo said with an all-knowing smirk.

Kagura stopped walking and looked at the wildcat, sizing her up. The cheshire grin spread across her face unnerved her. She didn't...no, she couldn't know about her fight with Sakaki. That wasn't possible. Tomo stopped and faced the athlete.

"What's your problem?"

Kagura's eyes narrowed as she continued to look at the wildcat, looking for any slightest clue that would give her a hint as to what Tomo was talking about. When Kagura failed to reply, Tomo continued to talk.

"You're thinking about college shit, right? What's going on up there?" Tomo asked as she rapped on Kagura's forehead as if it were a door. The athlete flinched, swinging at Tomo's hand to get it away from her face.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"And?"

"And what?"

"Look, I'm fine with letting you vent at me for a bit; hell, Yomi does it all day. But I'm not gonna wait around and try and pry it out of you."

Kagura looked at Tomo thoughtfully. She was offering to be supportive for once, which was strange by Tomo standards. The rough day she had had was enough to make anyone who would listen seem like a saving grace. She wandered over to a bench and sat down with Tomo trailing the whole way.

"It was just...a bad day, that's all."

"What? Your boyfriend dump you or something?"

"No, moron. I had a tough day at therapy, so I'm a little worn out."

"That's it? You're just tired? Remind me to play games against you when after you're done working out."

"You know, Tomo, if you want to talk, take this shit seriously."

"Alright, I'm listening."

"Anyways, do you know what you're doing for school yet?"

"Not really."

"I thought you wanted to be a cop?"

Tomo was quieter than Kagura had ever seen her. She spaced out, her face completely blank. She came around soon enough, and continued conversation.

"You know...being a cop would be fun and all, but it's a lot of work."

"Well yeah. Does that mean you're giving it up?"

"I never said that."

"Then what're you trying to say?"

"I'm just saying that it's going to be a lot of work."

"And?"

"Damn, does everything need a reason with you?"

"Just saying."

"And I suppose you know exactly what you're going to do, huh?"

Kagura fell silent. She didn't know. That was the problem. Sakaki was right. She needed that scholarship, or she needed to start studying. Having both wouldn't be bad, but she needed to focus on one or the other. And she knew she needed to choose the one she had more control over.

"Ah ha! So you don't know either!" Tomo filled the silence. Kagura had taken too long in her response.

"I don't. But I just realized that I need to get my shit together."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Sakaki was right. I can't sit by and hope for that scholarship."

"Wait, Sakaki?"

"Yeah?"

"You mean to tell me that you could have been talking to her about this the whole time?"

"Not really."

By this point, Tomo was thoroughly confused. "What...?"

"We kinda maybe sorta had a bit of a fight today."

Tomo laughed at how embarrassed Kagura got over saying that. "Jeez, you got Sakaki to fight you? You must've done something pretty stupid."

"It wasn't something I did. And it wasn't even a fight. I just...yelled at her."

Tomo was near hysterics. "You? Yelled at Sakaki?" She said, gasping in between words. "What'd she do to you?"

"You know, she didn't do anything. It was all my fault."

Tomo quieted down after seeing how upset Kagura was becoming. The normally energetic athlete who would banter back and forth with her was giving in all too quickly.

"I'm sure you didn't do anything that dumb."

Kagura looked at Tomo. "Oh thanks. That was reassuring."

"Hey, if you've got a problem with me, go talk to Sakaki."

"That doesn't sound like a bad plan." Kagura stood up. "You mind if I go make a phone call?"

"Not at all. I think I'm gonna get going, actually. It's pretty late."

Kagura looked at her cell phone. The screen was illuminated with a digital 11:48. She'd miss curfew if she didn't hurry home. "Shit, you're right. I gotta go. Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, whatever." Tomo waved her off and started walking away.

"Hey, Tomo?" Kagura called after the wildcat, who stopped and glanced back to her. "You're not half bad. Thanks." Tomo grinned and shrugged, turning back and waving over her shoulder. Kagura watched her walk off.

Kagura quickly made her way home, just before her curfew. She made her way up to her room and tightly shut the door, pulling out her phone as she sat down at her desk. She flipped the desk lamp on and leaned back against the seat, sighing.

_Shit...it's already kind of late. Maybe this can wait until tomorrow. _Kagura thought. Maybe it would be best for her to wait it out, give herself some time to think about what she was going to say. Last time she had spoke on impulse, it had landed her in the mess she was in now. But then again, if she left it to sit for too long, she may just make Sakaki even more mad at her. She didn't even know how Sakaki was feeling after she had hung up. _Screw it. I have to do it now. I can't put it off. _She thought as she dialed Sakaki's number from memory. An eternity seemed to pass between each ring. One. Two. Three. Four. Kagura's heart stopped at the end of each ring, half of her hoping that Sakaki would answer, the other hoping that the call would hurry up and go to voicemail. The phone rang a fifth time. Kagura held her breath, waiting for whatever would come.


	26. Chapter 26

"Hello..."

Kagura jumped as she heard Sakaki's voice at the end of the line. Typical of her to wait to answer it until the very last ring. "Sakaki, I just wanted to..."

"...Please leave a message at the tone. Thank you."

Kagura heard the beep, signaling for her to start speaking. She hung up and tossed the phone onto her bed, slamming her face down on the desk in frustration. _That damn voicemail!_ She thought crankily, as she moved her head onto her arms. _Shit, I didn't even leave a message. Oh well, she'll see that I at least tried to call. That'll get me some brownie points, right? But seriously, stupid voicemail..._

She was so caught up in her fit that she hadn't heard her phone buzz to life. It took three rings for Kagura to even notice the sound, and if it hadn't been for the light glowing from her bed, she wouldn't have caught it at all. Trying to stay in her chair, she reached for the phone. Instead, she tipped over sideways towards the bed. Her face found the mattress as the chair toppled over. Grumbling, she heaved herself up, grabbed the phone, and answered.

"What?"

"That's no way to answer the phone. Especially when the person calling you has your wallet."

"Oh. Hey Tomo."

"See, that's a little better."

"Yeah yeah. What do you mean you have my wallet?"

"You left it at the arcade and I grabbed it for you."

"Why didn't you give it to me before I left?"

"Oh, I guess I could have done that, huh?"

Kagura sighed and shook her head. She was at least grateful that she had picked it up and not left it there. However, getting it back from her could prove to be a problem. "Alright. Can we meet up Monday so I can get it back?"

"Not so fast, my dear numbnut. I haven't forgotten how much you owe me."

"For what?!"

"Well, there was that time you gave me a black eye at the beach..."

"Which was an accident."

"And that time you threw my controller out the door and threw me off your bed..."

"Because you cheated."

"Let's not point fingers."

"Whatever. What do you want for it?"

"Now we're talking. Juice. Lots of it. And you're paying for it."

"Oh c'mon!"

"Now now." Even on the phone, Kagura could imagine the smug grin that Tomo would be wearing. "If you want to see your wallet again, you better bring a big ass bottle of juice."

"Look, fine. Whatever. I'll buy you a whole case of juice. Just bring the wallet, okay?"

"You've got yourself a deal!"

"Good. See you Monday."

"Later, numbnut."

"Right back at ya, moron." Kagura said as she clicked the phone shut, a goofy grin spread wide across her face. _That kid... _Kagura thought as she got ready for bed. _She's a character, that's for sure. _

While Kagura was in the bathroom brushing her teeth, her phone rang back in her room. The call soon went to voicemail. When Kagura returned, she swept her phone aside, not bothering to look at it before she crawled into bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

Meanwhile, Sakaki sat awake on the other end of the line. She heard the athlete's voice recording and the tone that signaled the beginning of the recording. She wondered if Kagura had pocket-dialed her on accident. She hadn't left a message, so whatever reason she had called for, it couldn't have been that urgent. The more she thought about it, the more likely that seemed. It had to have been a pocket dial. Knowing the girl's stubborn nature, she guessed that she was still upset about the phone call earlier. She was still appalled at how one little comment had gotten such a rise out of the athlete. What she said wasn't meant to take a dig at her at all. If anything, she was trying to get Kagura to keep her options open. She worried about the girl getting into college. Her grades, although improving, left much to be desired. She didn't even know what Kagura wanted to do as a career. _All she ever thinks about is sports...she probably likes sports more than me._ Sakaki, who had been drifting off to sleep, suddenly jolted awake at the thought. She began to think about how the times they spent together had began to grow few and far between. Ever since the beach house, Sakaki had been hitting the books hard. She had no idea what Kagura was doing. Probably swimming or something. They hadn't had a decent conversation in weeks. Sakaki felt guilty, realizing that she had turned Kagura down multiple times over the past couple of weeks. She could have made time for the athlete, taking a break here and there. Of course, it didn't help that she was still a little upset about what had happened at the beach house. Normally, Sakaki wasn't one to hold grudges. She wasn't angry. It was more of a feeling of disappointment than anything. She wanted Kagura to talk to her about it, and when the athlete made no such attempts to even bring it up, it made her more and more upset. All she wanted to do was to sit down with Kagura and talk about everything that was on her mind. She opened her phone quickly and typed out a message, sending it to Kagura's phone. There was a chance that she'd still be up and message her back, so Sakaki waited patiently for a reply. When ten minutes came and passed, she shut off her phone, realizing that there would be no response tonight. She went to bed, tired from the stressful end to her day.

The next morning, Kagura flipped over, trying to avoid the sun as much as possible. But it's rays weren't interested in letting the girl sleep. She groaned and stretched, accepting the fact that she wouldn't be falling back asleep. As she got up, she reached for her phone, which had fallen off of her bed. Unable to reach it, she tumbled out ungracefully, with a resounding *thud* as she hit the floor. Too tired to care, she picked up the phone, noting one missed call and a text message. She looked at the call log first. Looking at the name that popped up on the missed call list woke her up instantly. Knowing who the text would be from, she rushed to open her inbox. She opened Sakaki's message:

"Hey. Saw you called. Want to meet up tomorrow?"

Kagura looked at her clock, which read 10:30. _Hmm...late enough for Sakaki to be up, but probably too early for her to be studying. I could call her now..._She glanced at the clock again. _Ehh...nah. I got an appointment in a half an hour. _"Oh shit! I have to be at the hospital in thirty minutes!" She yelled, jumping up immediately. She grabbed her things and got out of the house as fast as she could, leaving her phone on her bed in her rush.

Kagura came back from her doctor's visit in a sour mood. The past two days of physical therapy were particularly demanding, and left her sore and limping. Needless to say, when the doctor saw her hobble her way into his office for her check up, he wasn't pleased. Kagura didn't listen to a word he said. She had caught on to bits about "taking it easy" and "allowing herself time for rest". But to Kagura, those translated into one thing: she was still hurt. She was especially upset when the doctor said that he wouldn't allow her to increase the range of motion setting on her brace. When she came home, she went straight up to her room and slammed the door shut. She turned on the Playstation, sat down at her desk, and wasted the rest of the afternoon playing video games. Not once did she notice her phone vibrating on her bed, signaling incoming calls and text messages. Dinner time came and passed without the girl leaving her room. Finally, late that evening, Kagura turned off the gaming counsel and got ready for bed. She flopped on the mattress and stared at the ceiling, sleep evading her. The day had not gone the way she had hoped. She hadn't heard what she wanted to hear at the doctor's office. He didn't mention running at all, much to her displeasure. And while what he didn't say made her upset, what he did say made her downright angry. _Who does he think he is, anyways? It's not like he's an athlete. Hell, I bet he couldn't even make it around the track twice without needing a breather. _Kagura thought, all of her frustrations from the day weaving their way into her thoughts. _Whatever. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Like hell I'm going to listen to some old guy with nothing better to do than tell kids off for doing their physical therapy exercises. The nerve of that old geezer..._

Kagura's angry monologue was cut short by her phone buzzing. She groaned, looking for the hidden phone. She discovered it lying under a heap of blankets at the foot of the bed. It wasn't an incoming call or a text message, but merely a reminder that she had had a few missed calls and messages. She decided to check the call log first.

"Mom...Mom...Dad...Sakaki...Sakaki...Sakaki..." Kagura listed the callers verbally as she read them. Only her dad had left a voicemail, which was just asking how the appointment had gone. She figured her mom had called for the same reason. However, the calls from Sakaki confused her. There were so many. Why did Sakaki call her so many times?

"Ahhhh...fuck." Kagura said as she realized her mistake. Sakaki had texted her the day before, and instead of replying, she had tossed her phone on the bed and chose to ignore it all afternoon and night. Now it was too late to try and call back. _Like she'll wanna talk to me after this anyways._ Kagura thought, losing confidence. _I gotta try and fix things fast._ Knowing that Sakaki would see it in the morning, she sent her a text message and went to bed, hoping that she hadn't screwed up too badly.

Sakaki sat wide awake in her room, her thoughts whirling. Kagura had not only ignored her calls, but she didn't even respond to her text message. The polite thing to do would have been at least letting her know that she was busy and wouldn't be able to hang out. _Or maybe she just didn't want to..._ Sakaki thought. She looked at her bed where a new first person shooter video game lay, still wrapped up in plastic. Sakaki had felt bad about ignoring the athlete so much, and for what she had said the other day, so she wanted to make it up to her by getting her something that she would really enjoy. However, she hadn't gotten the chance, and the gift lay on the bed, a reminder of the rift that had grown between them. Sakaki rested her head on a hand and looked out the window, wondering what was next for them.


	27. Chapter 27

Sakaki woke up the next morning, her mood still not the best. She went about her morning routine as always, although her thoughts distracted her. She hadn't made any plans for the day, so before sitting down with a book, she checked her phone. There was a message waiting for her. Having a pretty good idea who the message was from, she opened the text, which read:

"Hey, Sakaki. Sorry I bailed yesterday. Wanna get dinner tomorrow?"

Sakaki let a small smile appear on her face. She knew apologizing was probably a big step for the athlete. Maybe things were going to work themselves out after all. She typed out a short reply and sent it to Kagura, accepting her dinner invitation and asking for details. She glanced at the clock, which read 9:15. Her smile grew a little bigger as she realized that Kagura wouldn't be getting the response for at least another hour, since the girl didn't care to wake up all that early. She sat down at her desk with her book, her day already going better than she had thought.

Kagura pulled herself out of bed at 11. She had stayed up way too late the night before, worrying about what Sakaki would say, and it was getting to her this morning. The first thing she did was check her phone. Her face lit up when she saw the text message waiting image on her phone, knowing exactly who it would be from. Not that it wasn't good to see that Sakaki had said yes to her idea and wanted to know what time they would be meeting. She quickly typed out another message, asking if 7 would be an okay time to meet. She dropped the phone and wandered downstairs to make herself some breakfast.

_Alright. Got Sakaki to go for the dinner date. Can't wait to see her. _Kagura thought as she headed back upstairs after she had gotten something to eat. Another message from Sakaki confirmed that they would be meeting at 7 at their usual place in the park. Kagura punched the air excitedly, glad to finally have a chance to hang out with Sakaki since they both had been so busy.

The afternoon went quickly, as both girls prepared for the night. As 7 o'clock approached, Sakaki became more and more nervous. She didn't know what to wear, therefore her entire closet had been thrown all over her room as she looked for the perfect outfit. After hours of searching, she picked out something simple; a pair of dark jeans with a light purple shirt. The shirt had elaborate gold designs on it, making it a little more dressy than just a plain shirt. Her outfit wasn't the only thing she was worried about. She fretted over what would happen at the restaurant. Would Kagura have another blow up like she did over the phone? She doubted the girl would behave like that in public, but what if things did get out of hand? She paced nervously, eventually unable to stay in the house any longer, and she headed out to the park early.

Kagura was just as nervous as Sakaki was. _It's like a first date all over again, _Kagura thought as she picked out an outfit. This time, she opted for a dark blue v neck that fit nicely and a pair of jeans. She glanced around her room, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything. The big teddy bear that Sakaki had gotten her as a get well gift caught her eye. She chuckled as she looked at the bear, noticing that it's bowtie was the same color as the shirt she had on. _Maybe she'll notice._ She thought absentmindedly. Something was tugging at the back of her mind. She knew she was forgetting something. She began checking her bag and pockets as she took a quick inventory. _Phone? Check. Keys? Check. Wallet...?_ Kagura groaned. Tomo still had her wallet! She looked at the clock. 6:30. There was time, but she'd have to go fast. She whipped out her phone, calling the girl immediately.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Tomo. It's Kagura. Look, can you meet me at the park in like 20 minutes?"

"What's the rush?"

"I need my wallet back."

"Oh, so you _need_ it, huh? What's going on?"

"Now is not the time, Tomo. I need that wallet."

"Oh, calm your ass down. Yeah, I can meet you. Where?"

"I already said the park!"

"Alright, alright, no need to shout."

"Sorry. Thank you."

"So about that juice..."

"I'll see what I can do!" Kagura said as she hung up. She hurried out of the house, getting to the park as fast as possible. She sat down on a bench near the vending machines that Tomo was bound to show up at. Since she had not clarified a specific place in the park, she had to guess where Tomo would be. She glanced at her phone, checking the time. There was still a couple of minutes before Tomo was scheduled to show up, and even a little longer before Sakaki would be getting to the park. Kagura sighed. This wasn't the way tonight was supposed to go. She hadn't planned on sitting in the park early, waiting for Tomo to get to the vending machines with her wallet. Seconds turned into minutes as time slowly passed, leaving the impatient athlete to sit alone, willing time to speed up. She looked at her phone every minute or so, every second making her that much closer to being late. Finally, the phone's screen lit up with a digital 7:00. Kagura growled in frustration. _Of all the times for that fucking wildcat to be late..._she grouched to herself, cursing Tomo for putting her plans on hold for the night. She waited another five minutes before calling Tomo's cell phone. To her surprise, the wildcat answered.

"Yeah?"

"Where the hell are you?" Kagura practically screamed into the phone.

"Whoa now, calm down. I'm on my way."

"Tomo, I don't have time for your shit. Hurry up!"

"Jeez, would you chill the hell out? I'm getting there!"

"Look, I really don't have time for this. Meet me by the vending machines, alright?"

"Okay." Tomo hung up the phone. "Fucking knucklehead." She muttered to herself, stuffing her hands in her pockets, kicking at a rock as she continued her trek to the park.

Meanwhile, Sakaki had shown up at the park five minutes early. She expected Kagura to be on time, if not just a little late. The athlete could be very punctual, and she had thought that this would be one of those times. However, it was now 7:15, and Kagura was nowhere to be seen. Sakaki considered calling her, but decided against it. It wasn't her job to ask Kagura where she was. If anything, the athlete should be calling her, letting her know that she was on her way.

Kagura sat on the bench, tapping the foot on her good leg nervously as she waited. Every person that passed caused her to jump as she continued looking for Tomo. Finally, she caught sight of someone that she was relatively sure was the wildcat. She stared them down with fiery eyes, not trying to hide her anger. Sure enough, it was the hyperactive girl. She glared back at Kagura.

"What's your problem?"

"Me? Why the hell weren't you on time?"

"Hey, back off. I have other stuff to do."

"Yeah, so do I! And I'm late for it because of you! So hand over the wallet."

With a smug grin, Tomo pulled the wallet out of her pocket. "You mean...this?" She asked, waving it in the air tauntingly.

"Tomo, I've had enough of you. I need that, and I need to go."

"Not until I get the juice."

If looks could kill, Tomo would have been dead where she stood. Kagura stared at Tomo, her fists balled tightly, slightly shaking. Her eyes bore holes into the wildcat. She had more than half a mind to knock her out right there and then, but realized that there wasn't time to deal with her antics. She exhaled a shaky breath, unclenching her fists. She held out a hand. "Okay. Give me the wallet and I'll give you juice money."

"Promise?" A look from Kagura told her that this was not the time. "Okay, okay. Whatever, you grouch." She said as she tossed Kagura the wallet. She snatched it out of the air excitedly. Kagura opened the wallet, took out some money, and tossed it at Tomo.

"Here! Go get your damn juice!" She said as she headed off in the other direction as fast as she could, leaving a very confused Tomo standing alone.

Sakaki looked back at her phone. Kagura was now a full half an hour late. Sakaki started to wonder if Kagura was coming at all. She thought that the athlete would have had the common sense and courtesy to at least call if she had to cancel. It wasn't the fact that she was late that made her upset. Even if she had to bail on their plans, Sakaki would have understood. It was the lack of communication going on between them that was really getting to her. They just didn't click like they used to. She sighed, slouching in her seat. _She's...not coming._ Sakaki told herself. She stood up and rubbed her eyes, trying to keep herself from crying, and began walking towards the park's exit.


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Welcome back readers! Just wanted to take a moment to thank those of you who have read and reviewed. The feedback means more than you know. And of course, thanks to the three pretty important people who proofread each chapter for me (you know who you are). You guys are the best. Now read, review, enjoy!**

Kagura came to a stop at the bench that was hers and Sakaki's normal meeting spot. When the taller girl was nowhere to be seen, Kagura's heart plummeted. She was too late, and she knew it. Sakaki was always on time. No exceptions. She looked at the time, noting that she was a good 35 minutes late. She sat on the bench and buried her face in her hands. Nothing was going right for her. Keeping her phone out, she tried calling Sakaki, although she knew it was probably no use. She had guessed correctly, as the phone went straight to voicemail. Kagura groaned. Once again, she had managed to screw things up.

_No. Not again. I'm going to make this right._

With her trademark fighting spirit renewed, she packed up her things and left the park, her destination already determined.

Sakaki reached her house and went straight to her room, pulling the door shut tightly behind her. She lay down on her stomach on her bed and shoved her face in a pillow. She hadn't ever felt this weak, this used before. It seemed like lately the girl she loved wasn't even her friend anymore. The multiple missed dates said to Sakaki that Kagura wasn't even trying to make an attempt to hang out with her. Worst of all, Sakaki was losing her trust in Kagura. She had sacrificed her own time to try and hang out with her, but when the athlete kept saying that she'd be somewhere, and then not show up without warning, it was hard to keep trusting what she had to say. Sakaki just lay there, trying to wrap her head around everything that was happening.

Kagura arrived at Sakaki's house a while later. While she had been determined to get there, she had walked slowly, partially due to her knee and partially due to the fact that she had no idea what she was going to say. She needed to fix the mess she had created, and she had to do it tonight. No excuses. She walked up to the front door, raising a hand to knock on the door. She hesitated. What if Sakaki wasn't ready to see her just yet? _No. I've gotta do it now. Otherwise I won't later._ Kagura thought as she knocked twice on the door. She could hear shuffling from inside the house as someone came down the stairs to answer the door. The lock clicked and the door swung open, Sakaki standing on the other side.

"Hello...oh."

Kagura froze. Seeing Sakaki for the first time in weeks was like seeing her for the first time all over again. She was still in her nice clothes from earlier, making her even more beautiful in the athlete's eyes. Kagura stood there, gaping like a fish out of water, fumbling for words. "I, uh, Sakaki..."

Sakaki blushed. The girl didn't look bad herself. The dark blue shirt that she had picked out reminded her of the teddy bear that Sakaki had gotten her, and fit her toned physique very well. She quickly cleared her mind of these thoughts though, as all of her doubts from earlier replaced them. "Did you need something?" she asked rather coldly.

Kagura was taken aback by Sakaki's curt reply. The harshness brought her back to reality in an instant. "Could I...do you wanna go somewhere?" was all she could muster. She looked up at the tall girl sheepishly, more flustered than she had ever been. She reached a hand to the back of her head and rubbed nervously, ruffling her own hair.

"I think I'm in for the night."

"Well then, could I come in?" Kagura pleaded.

Sakaki looked down at the athlete, who was giving her the best puppy dog eyes she had ever seen. Not wanting too, Sakaki melted, giving in to the girl. "I guess." She said as she opened the door further, allowing Kagura to step inside. Kagura followed Sakaki up to her room. It was the same as she had remembered it; full of plushies. She sat down on the bed next to Sakaki, who was watching her the whole way.

"So, uh...alright. Look. I'm really sorry about what happened tonight. I forgot that Tomo had my wallet and she was supposed to bring it to me but she was late and it made me late." Kagura said quickly, rushing through her story. It was as lame of an excuse as ever. She dropped her head, looking at her toes.

"Why'd Tomo have your wallet?"

"I left it at the arcade and she picked it up for me."

"I see."

Sakaki wasn't having any of Kagura's excuses, and the athlete knew it. She shifted a little, as if she was nervous about something. Kagura took note of Sakaki's timid behavior and realized that apologizing wasn't what Sakaki wanted to hear right now. Something else was bothering the tall girl.

"Hey, Sakaki?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you...is there something on your mind right now? Something...something bothering you?"

Sakaki shook her head in the negative. She couldn't bring herself to look at the athlete. She'd melt into those chocolate eyes, and she'd forget why she was even upset with her in the first place. As much as she wanted to just forget the whole thing, sweep it under the rug, she couldn't bring herself to forgive Kagura just yet. She couldn't forgive her for not addressing the issue of Nyamo walking in on them, and she couldn't forgive her for not talking to her sooner about her thoughts, her feelings on what had happened. She couldn't just forget about how recently, Kagura would make plans with her, only to leave her out to dry.

"I...I see." Kagura dropped her gaze. Sakaki wasn't talking. She was shutting down on her, closing her out. Her tiny door of opportunity was practically slammed in her face. She thought back to their months together, how much confidence Sakaki had gained, and how the whole thing had started. She thought of how Sakaki had been there when Kagura had needed someone after the accident. Sakaki had been there when she had needed it most. Kagura's reflection of their relationship resulted in a harsh realization that hit her so hard, she almost physically felt sick. Sakaki was always there for her, but when Sakaki needed her most, Kagura hadn't even talked to her about it. Sure, she was patient with the girl, supporting her as she gained confidence in their relationship. But she had never thought about what Sakaki was thinking, was feeling about what had happened at the beach house, or the times that she had missed out on their dates. That had to be the reason why Sakaki was so upset with her. She wasn't one to complain, and as much as she wanted to talk to Kagura about the situation, she wasn't going to confront the athlete about it. Maybe Sakaki hadn't gained as much confidence as she thought. There was no way to change the past, but she could do something about the future. And that first change was going to be talking to Sakaki about her thoughts and feelings.

"Are you sure?" Kagura asked quietly. She needed to let Sakaki know that she was ready to listen to whatever she had to say. She only hoped she wasn't too late in figuring out what was up with her.

Again, Sakaki shook her head. She didn't want to be this stubborn, but she didn't know what else to do. She didn't want to be upset at Kagura, but she couldn't let this go, either. Kagura was trying to let her open up to her. Yet at the same time, she wasn't going to talk about it unless Kagura brought it up.

"Is this...is it about what's been going on lately? Between us?"

Sakaki couldn't do this anymore. She looked at the athlete, staring intently at her. She didn't have to say a word. Kagura knew in the instant that Sakaki had turned to face her that that was the pressing issue. The reason for the conflict between them.

"I see...do you wanna talk about it?"

Sakaki's gaze dropped down to the blanket they were sitting on. She cast a glance up to the athlete, regretting it quickly. Kagura's face was so different from her own. While her own face was almost exclusively emotionless, Kagura's knew no boundaries. She had always been a girl of extremes, and her facial expressions were no different. Sakaki could read every wrinkle, every crease in her tanned face and figure out exactly what was on her mind. Everything from the way her jaw was set to the arches in her eyebrows screamed concern at Sakaki. From the look, Sakaki's thoughts that the athlete did genuinely care for her were confirmed. She just couldn't bring herself to express her unease.

"Hey, Sakaki?" Kagura started, getting the girl's attention. "We can talk about this. If you've got a problem with what's going on with us, it's your right to tell me. You don't have to sit back on whatever's bothering you, you know."

"I...I don't want to talk about it."

"Alright, maybe you don't want to talk about it. But you look damn miserable, and it looks like you need to talk about it."

"I...don't need to."

"Sakaki..." Kagura knew that she wasn't going to be able to win this one. Sakaki had pretty much turned off. Her responses were short and forced, like they had been before they had gotten to know each other. She was back to her shy, introverted self. More than anything, it made her frustrated. She wanted to break Sakaki of her shell, and by the looks of things, she had only managed to make it thicker. She wasn't giving up without one final answer though. "Hey, look at me." Sakaki looked back up, giving the girl her attention. "I get that you don't wanna talk anymore, but I don't know what I can do to make sure this doesn't happen again. What do you want from me?"

"What do I...want...from you?"

"Yeah. Please."

"I...I want things to be like they were. When I...when I could trust you."

Kagura was appalled. She hadn't broken Sakaki's trust, at least not to her knowledge. Her visage of shock must have given Sakaki all the push she needed to continue.

"You never told me what you and Ms. Kurosawa talked about."

"That's all? Because you see..."

"That's...that's not all of it."

Kagura fell silent, allowing Sakaki to continue. "You...all you do is train. And hang out with Tomo. We don't talk like we used to."

"Sakaki, I didn't..."

"We never talked about any of this important stuff. And now...it's just...all gotten out of hand. I just wish that you would have talked to me right away, that's all..." Sakaki trailed off. Her little rant felt great and awful at the same time. Being able to finally get all of this off her chest was a great relief, but she realized what a burden would be replacing it.

"Sakaki, I...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let this go on like I did."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not. I wasn't thinking straight. Actually, I wasn't thinking at all. I just thought you were upset at the beach house after what happened, that's all. I didn't know you had been thinking about it all this time."

"You could've asked."

Those words stung Kagura. Sakaki's reply had been short, stern. She could've asked. She should have. And she didn't know why she didn't.

"Anyways..." Sakaki started, "I...I need to go back to studying."

"Can't we talk a bit longer?"

"I...I think...we've done enough talking for a while, Kagura."

_No. She didn't just say that. I'm imagining it._

Time seemed to slow down. Kagura felt like her brain was working its way through frozen molasses. Sakaki didn't want to talk anymore? Even after what she had just said about them not talking at all? Did that mean she wanted to take a break? Or maybe break up for good? "You...you mean you want to...?"

"I'm sorry."

"Look, Sakaki, we can..."

"Kagura."

Sakaki looked at the girl. She was reeling, and she could tell. She took Kagura's hand softly. She still had a bit of confidence she was saving up for this exact moment. She knew that this was going to be hard for Kagura, but just as hard on her. She didn't want to break up, but she knew that it was probably for the best. Just for now. She still loved her, there was no question. But if she was going to have to worry about the lack of communication between them, then that stress was just extra that she couldn't worry about right now.

"I...I don't want to do this. But..."

"Then don't! Sakaki..."

"Just...listen. Please."

Sakaki's stoic face showed composure, while Kagura's showed disbelief, shock. They both floundered for words, stuttering until neither could speak at all. Surprisingly, Sakaki spoke first.

"I know...that this isn't what you want to hear right now. But I think this is what's best for us right now."

Kagura looked at Sakaki with the most pathetic, defeated look Sakaki had ever seen on the athlete. "Well...I guess if you think it's right, then I guess I should just go with it. But..."

"Yeah?"

"Do you...you still..."

"Still what?"

"You know..."

For once, Kagura couldn't bring herself to speak. Her speech fell short. When Sakaki didn't respond right away, she felt more hurt than she had ever felt before. She stood up and looked down at a confused looking Sakaki.

"I think...I should go now."

"Kagura, I..."

"See you later, I guess."

Kagura left the room, leaving a stunned Sakaki on the bed._ Kagura... I do still love you. _She thought as she watched the athlete leave her house for what could be the last time.


	29. Chapter 29

Kagura stepped out the door of Sakaki's house. She looked around, seeing that the streetlights were already lit and the sun was close to being fully set. She walked out onto the street in a daze, not exactly sure what to do. Sitting still right now would have done more harm than good. She walked aimlessly back towards to the park, but the slow progress due to her brace was infuriating. Each passing step made her more and more upset. Finally, she had enough. She sat down on the nearest bench and looked down at the brace. _It won't be that bad if I change the settings now. I just need to get home. _Kagura thought as she started twisting dials. Each turn increased the range of motion settings on her brace, something the doctor had specifically said not to do. _Fuck it. What the doc doesn't know won't hurt him. _She thought as she gave the settings one last adjustment. She kicked her leg out in front of her and let it fall back, much like she would do if she was at the doctor's office doing the reflex test. She stood slowly, testing her weight. Without the brace's support, her knee felt unstable. But once she took a tentative step forward and found that it wasn't going to collapse on her, her confidence returned and she began walking normally. Her steps grew longer in length and her pace picked up as she went from a walk, to speed walking, to a slow jog. After not running since school, Kagura's legs felt weak. They started to burn from the exercise quickly, but she didn't stop. She focused on the pain in her legs instead of Sakaki. It felt right. She ran to the park, through it, and towards her house. Finally, she turned onto her street, out of breath. Instead of slowing down to a walk, she sped up, reaching near full sprint by the time she was halfway down the street. Granted, it was much slower than she had been before, but to her, she felt like she was flying. When she started slowing down right before her house, she started to feel it. Her knee, already unstable, felt loose and wobbly, as if it were ready to give out at any second. Each step hurt worse than the one before. Kagura began to hop on her good leg, trying to protect the injured one from having to work any longer. She turned the corner to hop up the path to her house. When she reached the steps, she sat down, extending the injured leg out in front of her. Panting heavily, she readjusted the brace back to where the settings should have been. She leaned back, supporting her weight on her elbows as she tried to regain her breath. The run, although painful, was exactly what she needed. It had allowed her to clear her head, if only for the short minutes that she had been running for. Once she had caught her breath, she stood up and went inside. She didn't allow herself any time to think as she gingerly climbed the stairs, heading directly into her room, where she flopped down onto her bed, trying to fall asleep quickly.

Sakaki had watched Kagura as long as she could, until the athlete had turned a corner, effectively disappearing. Even watching her walk down the street was hard on her. They hadn't seen each other in weeks, and the first time they got together, they broke up. Sakaki had never felt so many mixed emotions before. The regret, guilt, and sadness swirling around in her head, mixed in with feelings of relief and release were making her nauseous. She sat down on her bed to try and let the waves pass. She hadn't ended it because she didn't love Kagura anymore. She just thought they needed a break while they both sorted out their futures. However, by acting on impulse, as she had never done before, she had gotten herself into quite an ordeal. She could have given Kagura the wrong message. What if Kagura moved on? Sakaki wasn't quite sure what she'd do without Kagura around. She knew they wouldn't be attending the same university, but she thought that they'd at least stay in touch, possibly even together. Now those possibilities seemed more like dreams and wishes than anything that actually had a chance of happening. She lay down on her bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering what she was going to do next.

The next morning, Kagura woke up groggy and blurry eyed. She had barely gotten 3 hours of sleep, and that was after she had stayed up the rest of the night tossing and turning. Still out of it, she swung her legs out of bed and stood up.

Well, she tried to stand up.

The stiffness and pain in her knee prevented Kagura from fully standing. She fell back onto the bed, clutching at her knee. The pain was worse than any of the soreness from physical therapy. Cursing herself, she stood again, balancing on one leg as she hopped to the bathroom, where she started desperately searching for some sort of pain killer. After taking twice the normal amount of ibuprofen a person should take, she limped back to her room, where she collapsed on her bed, face stuffed in a pillow, and sighed.

_It's going to be a long day. _She thought.

The final few days of summer break passed at snail's pace for both Kagura and Sakaki. Each fell into their own routine, never straying from it. Sakaki spent sun up to sun down studying, only leaving her room to get something to eat or go to the bathroom. Kagura woke up late, did her exercises, and spent the rest of the day laying about her room. Neither answered phone calls or text messages from their friends.

In short, they were both miserable.

On the last evening of summer break, Kagura lay in bedroom, flipping idly through a swimming magazine. Her doctor had recommended getting back into the pool; a small light shed on an otherwise shitty week. However, the pool was closed until school started, so she had to wait until classes started back up. Her brace lay forgotten and collecting dust in a corner of her room. The only time she wore it was when she went to the doctor's. He wasn't pleased with the progress she was making, and she was forbidden once again from adjusting the range of motion settings. Not like she cared. She was still looking at the magazine when she heard a rap on her window. Confused, she got up, opened it, and leaned out, scanning her yard for the cause of the noise. She didn't have to look hard or long before noticing it.

"Ah! So you're not actually dead!"

"Tomo, what're you doing?"

"Coming to hang out with you! It's the last night of summer, and that lazy Yomi..."

"Look, I appreciate it, but I'm not really up to hanging out."

At this, Tomo stopped. She looked up at Kagura. Even in the dark, she could see that the athlete didn't quite look herself. She couldn't put her finger on what was wrong, but she wanted to change it. A big, Tomo-esque grin spread across her face.

"Now, now, I'm not taking no for an answer! C'mon down! Or I'll climb up there!"

Kagura didn't doubt that Tomo would try and scale her house, and she was even more certain that it would end in disaster. Rather than trying to argue with the unreasonable girl, she shouted down to her. "Fine. Just...stay there. Don't move." She waited until she got a salute from Tomo, who pretended to be a statue at attention. Once she was sure she wasn't about to do something too stupid, she left her room and went down to her backyard, where Tomo remained, still frozen in her pose. A large grin crept across her face as she dropped her hand and walked over to greet Kagura. "You wanna take a seat on the porch?" She asked the wildcat.

"Yeah, that'll work."

The duo made their way out around front of the house, each taking a seat on the steps. Tomo flopped down with a dull thud, while Kagura gently lowered herself onto the step, letting out a small breath on the way down.

"Hey, where's the brace? You finally all better?"

"What? Oh, no. I...just haven't really been wearing it lately."

"Why not?"

"I don't really know. Just don't wanna."

"Yeah, whatever. Anyways, where the hell have you been lately? No one's even heard from you."

"What do you mean?"

"You practically went MIA. Why don't you answer your phone anymore?"

"You called?"

"Damn right I called. A lot, too. Me, Yomi, Chiyo and Osaka went out to dinner. You didn't even pick up. Neither did Sakaki."

"Oh. Umm...I don't really leave my phone on all that much anymore."

"Bullshit. It rang, which meant it was on. Why didn't you pick up?"

"Look, Tomo, I'm really not in the mood for this right now."

Tomo glanced over to the athlete. She had her bad leg extended out in front of her, but she had her other knee bent, with her arms wrapped around each side, connected at the ankle. Her chin rested on the good knee as she stared out onto the street at nothing in particular. Overall, she seemed as distant and preoccupied as Tomo had ever seen anyone.

"Uh...Kagura?" The athlete looked back to her to acknowledge the statement. "What's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"Shit, I don't know...you've got this glassy eyed look and you won't answer any of my questions."

"I guess I'm just bummed it's over, that's all." The words came out before Kagura could even think. Immediately regretting them, she looked over to Tomo, who had a mischievous grin creeping its way onto her face.

Tomo, on the other hand, thought she had it all figured out. _Ah, she's just upset that summer's coming to a close! Our last summer as high schoolers at that!_ she thought. Good thing she had just the thing for curing the end-of-summer blues.

"That's enough moping!" Tomo declared, jumping to her feet. Kagura stared up incredulously, wondering what was next to come. "Time to have some fun!" She said with a grin. She extended a hand out to Kagura to help her up. "Now...you in or not?"

Kagura couldn't help but smile. The wildcat's energy was downright contagious, and with school starting the next day, it wouldn't hurt her to get out a little and enjoy the last bits of summer. She took Tomo's hand with a nod, and pulled herself up, following the wildcat out the front gate to whatever she had planned.


	30. Chapter 30

The next morning, Kagura was rudely awoken by the buzzing of her alarm clock. The awful noise caused the sleepy athlete to bring an angry fist down on the off button, effectively ending the racket. She rolled out of bed and got ready for classes that day. Right before leaving her room, she considered putting on the brace. With a shrug of the shoulders, she left the house, leaving the brace behind. During the walk, an unsettling knot formed in her stomach. Today, she would have to face Sakaki. She wasn't sure if she was ready for it, though. Her night out with Tomo the previous evening had helped her to forget the problems between them, but here she was now, back at square one. _Oh well. We'll just have to see what happens. _She thought as she continued heading towards the school.

Classes came and went. The final bell rang to signal the end of the school day. Kagura rushed and packed up her things and headed straight down to the pool. She had been looking forward to getting back in the water all day. In fact, that was the reason she had made it through the school day at all. Sitting in the back of the classroom, she had caught herself stealing glances at Sakaki all day as she gazed out the window. She wondered why she tortured herself like she did. She thought about how they had been relatively civil towards each other; the charade they put on was enough to keep any of their friends from asking if anything was up between them. An unspoken pact between them kept either from letting the others in on their break up. Kagura made it to the locker room and changed into her swimsuit, going straight out onto the pool deck. A tired looking Nyamo sat on a lounge chair as she relaxed after her long day of classes.

"Hey Coach." Kagura greeted her with grin.

"Wow, you got down here fast."

"Yeah, what can I say? I've been looking forward to this all day."

Nyamo smiled, realizing the truth behind Kagura's statement. She knew that school wasn't on the top of Kagura's list of favorite things. _If she had the drive for classes that she had for sports...I bet she could give Sakaki and Yomi a run for their money in academics._ She thought. "Well, go ahead and jump in. I know you can take care of yourself."

At these words, Kagura lit up in the biggest, brightest smile in weeks. She hurried to the end of the pool with the grin still plastered on her face and got ready to dive in. Wary of her knee, she planted with her good leg and dove in gracefully, hardly making a splash. The cool water felt great as the athlete began to do laps, slowly at first, but gaining speed steadily. Kagura felt safe in the water. Doing the laps felt as natural as walking to the athlete. Nyamo watched from the pool deck and smiled. The kid was every coach's dream. A gifted, talented athlete with the drive and dedication that resembled even the pros. She thought about the last time she had seen the girl, which was at the beach house. She had seen how much it killed her to be sitting on the beach rather than in the water. Furthermore, she thought back about what had happened the first day they got there, and wondered how things were going between her and Sakaki.

Finally, it got late enough to where Nyamo had to close the pool. Kagura reluctantly finished her lap and climbed out of the water, breathless from the exercise.

"I'm going to close up the pool, Kagura. I'll wait outside the locker room so once you get out of there, I can lock it up too."

"Sounds good, Coach." Kagura said as she toweled off her hair. She made her way back inside the locker room, got changed into street clothes, and came back outside where Nyamo was waiting.

"Kagura?"

"Yeah?"

"Where is your brace?"

"My what?" Nyamo gave her a scolding look, cracking the athlete instantly. "Uhh...I don't wear it anymore."

"Why not?"

"Dunno. Just don't."

"That's not a reason."

Kagura knew why she didn't wear the brace. It was for dumb reasons, really. On one hand, she really was sick of the thing. It was bulky, made a lot of noise, and got hot and scratchy. It just slowed her down. On the other hand, she discarded it out of stubbornness. Even though it hurt her to walk around with the extra support all day, she thought that by tossing out the brace all together, her knee would have to heal faster. She didn't really care if it healed wrong; just as long as she could start running again. Swimming was a plus, but the pool wasn't always open. The roads were always there for her to run on, and running was what she did to get her mind off of things that were troubling her. And right now, a run, even with the pain, was always welcome to get her mind off of Sakaki.

"It just bothers me, that's all."

"Kagura, I know it's a pain, but you need to wear it."

"Who says? I can get by just fine without it."

"Look, you should really wear it. You shouldn't push yourself too hard right now."

"Why not? I already went for a run without it."

"And how'd that feel?"

"...It hurt at the end."

"See? You really shouldn't be so stubborn."

"I can deal with pain."

"If it doesn't heal right, it's going to give you trouble for the rest of your life."

"Like I care."

Nyamo was taken aback by the harsh statement. She couldn't have possibly heard the athlete right. Somehow, she didn't think she was talking just about the brace anymore.

"Kagura?"

"Yeah, Coach?"

"Is something wrong? Did you have a bad day at school?"

"Nah, school was fine."

"How's studying for exams?"

"It's coming along."

"How's...Sakaki?"

Nyamo could tell she had hit a nerve right when she said the name. Kagura had frozen up at the mention. Her brow furrowed and she looked down at the ground away from Nyamo.

"She...I...we haven't talked for a while."

"I see. I know it may not be my place, but you remember that discussion we had? I'm here to support both of you. If you need anything, please, don't be afraid to ask."

"Got it, Coach. But I gotta get going. See you tomorrow." Kagura said with a slight wave as she left Nyamo standing alone.

Kagura walked out of the school building onto the street. Seeing that she was one of the only people out on the street, she picked up her pace, settling into a quick jog, ignoring the fact that she'd be in considerable pain when she got home. Instead, she kept running, forcing her leg to keep moving, focusing all of her concentration on the movements. When she got home, she was tired and sore, but ultimately less stressed than she was at school.

The next few weeks were some of the busiest for the girls. Studying was done, majors and college choices were made, and entrance exams were taken. Kagura, late as always with these things, had frantically compiled a list of schools she wanted to attend, studied for the tests, and taken the exams all within these few weeks. It was one of the only times in her life that she truly chose to study. Maybe it was because it was something to focus her thoughts on, but she really worked hard at it. Little by little, understanding came to her, and by the time the exams came around, she knew she had a better shot of doing well than if she hadn't studied at all. The fact that she hadn't gotten a single letter for a scholarship drove her to the books. One day, after classes, Kagura sat on the pool deck relaxing. She had just recently finished her last exam, the one for the big school next to Sakaki's chosen vet school. She didn't feel very good about the test. However, she kept telling herself there was nothing she could about it now. She heard the locker room door open and close, and looked up to see who had just arrived.

"Oh. Hey, Coach."

Nyamo laughed. "I thought I might find you here. How are you?"

"I'm alright."

"How did your exams go?"

"Decent enough. I studied. Hard."

"Is that why I haven't seen you after school?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, I'm proud of you for taking the initiative and working on your studies."

"Thanks, Coach."

"Now, who'd you study with?"

"Just by myself."

"You know it's a good idea to study with a partner, right?"

"Yeah, but..." Kagura trailed off. Nyamo looked at her expectantly. "I don't think my usual study buddy wants anything to do with me right now."

Nyamo knew exactly where this was going. Reminding herself to be professional, she prepared herself to listen to whatever Kagura had to say. "Is there something wrong?"

A simple enough question. But not such a simple answer.

"I...I...I fucked up. Bad." Kagura choked out. Nyamo nodded, ignoring the language and encouraging Kagura to keep talking. She could tell she hadn't told anyone about this yet. Kagura eventually continued, "I...I didn't know...that I was hurting her the way I was. I was selfish. I took her for granted. I never once thought about asking her if there was anything she wanted to talk about." By this point, Kagura was near tears. Her eyes watered and nose ran. Nyamo had never seen the girl so distraught, not even after her injury. "I didn't even try asking her if something was bothering her. The beach house conversation, the missed dates...fuck! I was so stupid! I had it all laid out in front of me, and I missed all of it!" The athlete finished with a sob. She buried her face in her hands as she started to cry. Nyamo patted her back comfortingly, but she knew Kagura would get over this eventually. The waterworks session ended soon enough, and Kagura pulled her head back up, eyes red and puffy. Nyamo gave her a tissue, and Kagura took it gratefully, cleaning up her tearstained face. "T-t-t-thanks, Coach." She said with a sniffle.

"No problem."

The two sat in silence for a short while before Kagura spoke back up.

"H-h-hey, Coach?"

"Yes?"

"What...what do you think I should do?"

Nyamo looked up thoughtfully. Watching the way Kagura had just acted showed her that what she felt for Sakaki was more than just some dumb high school crush. The girl genuinely did care for Sakaki, even to the point that when she hurt her, she hurt herself.

"It sounds like the source of your troubles is a lack of communication. Does that sound about right?"

Kagura just nodded, unable to speak.

"Well...if that was the problem, I'd say the only way to fix it would be to go and talk to her."

"B-b-b-but I doubt she'll even talk to me anymore..."

"Well, you don't know that unless you give it a shot. Right?"

Kagura sniffed. "Yeah. I guess." She stood up. "I'm gonna head home now. Thanks again."

"Of course. I hope you get this fixed."

Kagura just nodded and left the pool area.

_Me too, Coach. Me too._


	31. Chapter 31

**Welcome back, readers! Quick announcement for you all. Starting today, updates are going to be every other day. That's right. Faster updates so you all can get to the big finale quicker! Hope this is good news. Anyways, enjoy this next installment. Read, review, enjoy!**

School dragged on as everyone anxiously awaited the results of their exams. Most students checked the boards and their mail daily, as it became a compulsive behavior that they must do before they could go about their day. That being said, not every student was that worked up over their results. It was their senior year, and two girls in particular had bigger fish to fry.

Tomo wasn't concerned about her results in the least. In fact, it was her goal to make their third and final year as memorable as possible. That was the challenge of the year. When it should have been making it into a good school, the wildcat had focused her energies on coming up with the most outrageous ideas to pull off during the school year. When she wasn't scheming, she was bothering Yomi, and when she had had enough of that, or in most cases, when Yomi had had enough of her, she went and hung out with Kagura.

Kagura, on the other hand, wasn't as concerned about her test scores as she was the upcoming swim season. The doctor had moved on from clearing her to swim, to allowing her to race. When she heard the good news, she had told Nyamo right away, who was excited for the girl. The two had talked about what events to enter her in, how to get her into race shape as fast as possible to catch up for the lost summer, and most importantly, how to catch a scout's attention in such a short time. This meant longer, tougher practices and less time to goof off with her wildcat friend.

One night, after a light practice, Kagura walked home, taking a short cut through the park. She glanced at the couples sitting on the benches, enjoying the sunsets. Sighing, she put her head down and continued walking. She had avoided the park like crazy ever since the break up. It just made her downright depressed. She kept walking, avoiding eye contact with any other passerby. She could faintly hear someone calling her name. Thinking she was imagining it, she quickened her pace, trying to get out of the park as fast as possible. Finally, a shout kept her from ignoring the obvious any longer.

"Hey! Moron! I'm talking to you, you know!"

Kagura whirled around, but the speaker was nowhere in sight. She spun around to each side, trying to find the source of the voice. It laughed, and Kagura could imagine the smirk on the speaker's face, watching her spin around blindly.

"Alright, Tomo, cut it out. Where are you?"

The wildcat leapt out from behind a bush, twigs and leaves stuck in her dark hair. The biggest, cheesiest grin was spread over her face as she strode over to the athlete.

"What's up?"

"Why were you in the bushes?"

"Ah, I asked you a question first. It's impolite not to respond."

"Fine. I just finished swim practice. Now what were you doing back there?"

"None of your damn business."

Kagura just sighed and walked off with the wildcat hot on her trail.

"So, what're you up to tonight?"

"Oh no. Not tonight. I've got my first meet tomorrow."

"Meet?"

"Yeah. Swimming. I can compete again."

"You don't say."

"Yeah." Kagura glanced over and saw the cheshire grin creeping its way onto Tomo's face. "Oh boy. What?"

"What time's this...meet?"

"Like hell I'm gonna tell you now."

"Well, that was rude. C'mon, tell me when you're gonna swim!"

"No way."

"Fine. Will Sakaki be there?"

Kagura turned and narrowed her eyes at the wildcat. For someone seemingly so stupid and oblivious, she always seemed dangerously close to finding out what was going on with them. She decided to test the wildcat.

"No, she won't be. Why do you ask?"

"Because she goes to all your shit."

"That's not true!"

"She was at your track meets, right?"

"Yeah...well that was because I was trying to recruit her for the team!"

Tomo paused, taking the statement into consideration. Satisfied, she continued her interrogation.

"Why'd you want her on the team?"

"Because she's talented. She'd help us win more meets."

"Because she's better than you."

"...Fuck off."

"Whoa, your crude language is too much for my delicate ears, you vulgar athlete!"

"Better get going before I say it again, then!"

Tomo just laughed, her pace continuing to match Kagura's.

"Anyways, you up for a quick round at the arcade?"

"Tomo, I already said I have to get home!"

"Take it easy! It was just a question. You need to go home...you're crabby as hell. Go take a nap or something."

Kagura scoffed and shook her head. They had just left the park and where nearing the intersection that branched to hers and Tomo's streets.

"Thanks for the advice. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"Yeah, later idiot."

"Later, knucklehead."

Kagura kept walking, eventually getting back to her house. She ate a big dinner, since she knew she wouldn't be eating too much the next day. Once finished, she headed up to her room. Surprisingly, she sat down at her desk and cracked open a textbook. With entrance exams out of the way, the teachers had fallen back into their old routines, which meant Kagura had to start hitting the books again if she wanted to keep her grades up. She studied hard for about 45 minutes before losing all concentration. She had just pulled out her science textbook and flipped it open when she stopped herself. Science was her worst subject. She had never studied it without Sakaki's help before.

Suddenly, the athlete didn't feel much like studying. She turned off her desk light and crawled into bed. She had been doing a good job of keeping a handle on her emotions lately. Swimming was helping with that. But the encounter with Tomo and the textbook proved to be her undoing. Kagura tossed and turned. She needed sleep. It wouldn't end well for her if she were to show up to school the next day red-eyed and tired. Desperately, she turned the lights back on and scanned the room for something that could help ease her mind. Her eyes fell on one thing.

_I'm out of my fucking mind._ Kagura thought as she picked it up. _But if it gets me to sleep..._ She crossed her room again, turned out the light, and curled up on her bed. As if by a miracle, the athlete conked out instantly, falling into a deep, restful slumber, snuggling into the teddy bear Sakaki had gotten her.

Her alarm woke her the next morning, and Kagura got up, feeling refreshed. She got up and stretched, getting ready for the day. Before she left, she looked back at the bear with the bowtie. She grinned, feeling good about the day ahead. With a little wave, she shut the door and headed off to school.

As always with meet days, school dragged on for Kagura. She found herself so distracted that she wasn't hungry come lunch time. Rather than sit with the rest of the girls, she went up to roof to relax. A chilly breeze met her, but rather than sending her back inside, it drew her further out onto the roof. The air was refreshing, calming. Kagura breathed in deeply, enjoying being outside after a morning cooped up indoors. She leaned on the railing and let her mind wander, thinking most about the races that afternoon. She didn't hear the door open and shut, nor did she hear the person approaching her.

"Umm...hey."

Kagura jolted back to her senses, only to see Sakaki standing near her.

"Uh, hey Sakaki. What're...ahem, what's up?"

"I just...I knew I'd find you up here..."

"Yeah? Guess you were right." Kagura said with a small chuckle. She may have been composed on the outside, but on the inside, she was a mess.

_Shit, shit, shit! What am I supposed to do now? Do I ask her to stay? Leave? She must know it's a meet day. Why is she coming to talk to me now? We haven't had a decent conversation in weeks..._

"Umm, Kagura?"

"Y-yeah, Sakaki?"

"Tomo mentioned you had a meet today."

"Yeah, starting right after school."

"I just...just wanted to wish you good luck."

"Oh!" Kagura was taken aback. She hadn't expected that. She thought Sakaki was coming to sort things out, to talk about something big and important, and yet, it was just a simple 'good luck'? Kagura smiled. "Thanks, Sakaki."

"No problem." She finished and began to walk back towards the door heading off the roof.

Feeling a little bit bold and a little bit desperate, Kagura turned and shouted to her just as she reached the door.

"Hey, Sakaki?" Sakaki turned, acknowledging Kagura's shout. "Are you going to be there? In the stands?"

Silence. Kagura held her breath as she awaited confirmation or rejection. Sakaki walked back to Kagura so she could avoid shouting.

"I...I can't. I have a job."

"A job? You never told me that! Congratulations!" Kagura sprang forward and embraced her in a tight bear hug. A moment passed before she realized just what she was doing. She let go quickly, noting the blush on Sakaki's face as she stood there frozen.

"Umm...yeah. I should...I think I'm...bye." Sakaki rushed out, turning on a heel and making a beeline for the door.

Kagura watched her disappear behind the door. When she was sure she was long gone, Kagura walked over to the shut door and leaned forward, shutting her eyes and pressing her forehead against the cool metal. In the moment, Kagura lost any self control she had left, slamming a fist against the door. _What the hell was that? I'm only making things worse! _She cursed silently, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. _I can't...I can't do that anymore! We're not together. We're not together. We're not together... _Kagura repeated the mantra to herself time after time. But when it came down to it, to their first real conversation since the break up, she had forgotten it completely, carelessly tossing caution into the wind and acting as if nothing had ever happened. She shut her eyes again and focused on the swim meet that afternoon. _Swim meet. Scouts. Races. Scouts. That's what's important. Meet. Scouts._ She told herself. After taking a deep, calming breath, Kagura went back down into the building, back to class.

The school day eventually ended. Kagura packed up her bag and books, ready to head down to the locker room. She grabbed her things and said her farewells to her friends. Well, to everyone that was there.

"Hey, Yomi?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know where Tomo went?"

"Not a clue. She bolted for the door as soon as the bell rang. Must be a new video game out or something, because Yukari took off too."

"Heh, you're probably right. Thanks."

"Of course."

Kagura exited the room and walked down to the pool at a leisurely pace. She had plenty of time to get down there, let alone get ready to compete. But she was ready. By the time the meet started, Kagura was all set to go. Suit on, goggles in place, and a confident smirk to top it off as she walked onto the pool deck for her first race. Nyamo had prepped her for this. Kagura knew that she had a reputation as one of the top swimming prospects. She knew that competitors from other schools knew who she was, and what had happened. She knew that they would be watching every step she took, looking for any sign of a limp. They weren't expecting her to be at full strength, and they wanted to take advantage of that. Any chance to take the star down was welcome. She also knew that scouts were there in the stands. They had also heard about the injury. They too were on the lookout for any signs of weakness; a stiffness getting into her blocks, a weak start, a sloppy stroke. Anything that could prove to them that she wasn't fully healthy again. They were ready to look for the bad as well as the good. She needed to show everyone that she was back, and better than ever.

She had a point to prove. And she was damn ready to prove it.


	32. Chapter 32

_This is it. Gotta make it happen. _Kagura thought as she got into her blocks. This was her first real race since the injury, and she more than ready for it. It was easy for her to tune out her surroundings; the cheering crowd seemed to be on mute and the competitors next to her were nonexistent. It was just her and the clock; the way these things always were. So when the buzzer sounded, she launched herself into the pool without hesitation, just as gracefully as she had done before surgery. She did what she knew how to do; swim. She didn't let herself fall into a regular rhythm because that would be too slow. The burning in her lungs and limbs was excruciating as she pushed and pulled herself through the water as fast as she could until she finished the race. From there, she stopped to catch her breath before looking at the times.

Checking her lane number first, she saw her time, then compared it to the others. She had posted a 1:47.05 in the 200 meter freestyle, a decent enough time, especially considering the circumstances. Her personal best wasn't all that much faster than the time she had just posted, and she was pleased with herself on that front.

Then she saw the other times.

She had beaten a few of the other racers by a pretty large margin, some by not as much. Some had posted times only a second slower than hers, and some even less than that. But one time stood out on the clock, and it wasn't hers.

1:47.03.

She looked at Lane 3, where the racer who had posted the time was celebrating. She had taken second place. She climbed out of the pool and held her head high, realizing that having composure at this time was the most important thing. She couldn't sulk and pout over the loss, and she couldn't get angry. Accepting defeat gracefully, as difficult as it was, was what the athlete did. However, as much as she tried to drown out the sounds around her, one voice continued to make its way through the din of the pool and make itself heard above everyone else's.

"What?! Are you freaking kidding me? I demand a recount! A recount! There's no way that kid beat her! The timers are paid off, I tell ya!" The shouts were suddenly muffled, but there was more than enough time for Kagura to know where they had come from. The voice was too familiar, and she knew all too well who was sitting in the stands. She slowly turned and scanned the crowd. She didn't have to look far to find the culprit. There sat Tomo, in the front row of the bleachers. Currently, the wildcat was being restrained by a red-faced Yomi, although whether it was from the exertion of holding Tomo still or from the embarrassment that Tomo had caused, Kagura wasn't sure. She gave Yomi a grateful wave, which was returned by a short nod. Kagura walked back to where Nyamo was sitting.

"That was a good race, Kagura."

"I didn't win though."

"At this point, I don't think winning is your biggest concern." Nyamo said with a knowing grin.

"What do you mean, Coach?"

"Just look." Nyamo said as she jerked her head towards the bleachers. Kagura saw a group of very important looking people scribbling on notepads, typing on small laptops, texting, and making what looked like very animated phone calls. Just barely, she could see small logos on their polos, designating them as scouts. "Now, I can tell you that some of them are calling about that girl in lane three. And yes, she had a good race. Her best ever, I'm pretty sure. But you can bet that at least a few of them are talking about someone else."

"You mean me?"

"Looks like you've still got it." Nyamo said with a large smile.

Kagura smiled in return, then headed off to prepare for her next race.

At the end of the meet, Kagura content with her performances. She hadn't won every race, but she had always placed top three. However, now that the meet was over, she had bigger things to deal with. She exited the locker room, where she soon found a grinning Tomo waiting for her.

"What the hell were you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I was cheering you on!"

"Tomo, you can't just shout that kind of stuff at a meet! It's rude."

"Well, whatever. Can't change it now. You really think she beat you?"

"I don't know. It could have gone either way."

"Then you should be thanking me for standing up for you."

Kagura scoffed. The girl was too thick headed for her own good. "Well, I guess thanks for coming. Where'd Yomi go?"

"She had to head home. Something about a test coming up..."

"Tomo! We have an English test tomorrow!" Kagura shouted as she remembered. She had been so focused on the meet that she had forgotten to study for Yukari's test. "We gotta study at least a little."

"Pssh, since when do you care about studying?"

"Since I still need good grades if I'm going to compete next year."

Tomo considered the statement for a moment.

"How about we go to the arcade instead?"

"Tomo!"

"Kidding! Yikes, calm down. Well, you won't find me studying, so I guess I'll let you go."

"You sure you don't want to crack open a textbook?"

"Nah, it's dangerous to my health."

Kagura shook her head in disbelief. "Well, I'm out then. See you tomorrow!" She said with a wave.

The test ended up being deceptively easy. Kagura had studied the night before pretty hard, harder than she usually did. After swimming as well as she did, she thought that she might have a chance at actually competing for a university. However, she wouldn't be given the opportunity if she didn't keep her grades up.

When Kagura got her score back, she was more than a little surprised by the score. She had thought that she could have managed at least 70 percent on this one. She had felt good about the test when she had handed it in.

The big red 57 on her paper told her otherwise.

Kagura lay her head down on the desk with a groan. There was no way a score like that would get her into her schools of choice. She'd have to try much harder next time. The bell rang, signaling the end of class and the beginning of lunch. She stuck the paper in her bag and followed the rest of the girls to the cafeteria. She sat in between Tomo and Osaka, across from Sakaki, Yomi, and Chiyo. Conversation picked up as usual, mostly about the test they had just gotten back.

"Wow, that test was brutal, wasn't it?" Tomo started before stuffing her face.

"Maybe it wouldn't have been so tough if you had actually studied for it."

"Yomi, even if I had studied, you know I would have still failed."

"That's not true, Tomo!" Chiyo tried adding. "I'm sure if you applied yourself, you could have done very well!"

"Oh yeah? How much did you study, Chiyo?"

"Oh...I, ah...not that much."

"Aha. And what did you get for a score?"

"100..." murmured an embarrassed Chiyo.

"See? It's not the studying! It's how you take the test!"

"Tomo, what did you even get for a score?" asked an annoyed Yomi.

"I got a 43."

Yomi adjusted her glasses. "Well, you're not Chiyo-chan. Which means you have to study like the rest of us."

"Oh whatever. Sakaki, how'd you do?"

"I got a 90."

"And did you study?" Sakaki nodded in response. "Damn. That ruins that. Osaka!" The spacey girl turned slowly to face Tomo. "What did you get?"

"I got 41."

"Never mind." Tomo was getting desperate. "Kagura!"

"I got 57."

"Hey, that's not bad for you! Did you study?"

"A little. Just the night before."

"See, Tomo? Even a little studying helps." Yomi pointed out in a very matter-of-fact manner.

"Yeah, yeah. Maybe next time." Tomo said as she slurped up the last of her lunch. "I'm headed back to the room. Anyone else done?"

Yomi, Chiyo, and Osaka all got up to follow Tomo out of the cafeteria, leaving Kagura and Sakaki alone at the table. Kagura glanced up at Sakaki, then quickly back down at her food.

_Dammit, Tomo. What were you thinking? Neither of us were obviously close to being done eating and you just go ahead and pack up and leave us here. I guess I'll just have to try and make the best of this._

"Hey, Sakaki." The tall girl looked up in acknowledgement. "Tell me more about your job. We didn't really get to talk all that much last time."

"Oh. Yeah, I got a job at a cafe. Waiting tables."

"Really? That's cool. Where at?"

"Just this little one by the park. I think we might have gone there to eat once..." Sakaki trailed off. Sakaki knew for fact that they had gone there before, but she didn't want to bring anything up that could turn too awkward in such a public place. In all honesty, Sakaki wanted to talk to Kagura again. She just didn't know how to start or when. The day she tried talking to her before the meet had ended up with her running away. She didn't want to distract Kagura on her important day, and she was sure she had done just that. With entrance exams out of the way, Sakaki had started working part time, mostly to start earning money for school, but it was also a good way of passing the time. It kept her from thinking too much about Kagura and how she wanted to get back together. She didn't even know if Kagura still loved her like she did before.

"Oh! The little one with the really good tea."

Sakaki nodded in agreement. She did remember, and it made her happy.

"You could come in and visit sometime, if you wanted."

"Hey, I might take you up on that! Can you get me a discount?" Kagura laughed when she saw Sakaki's face. "Joking. Anyways, you done with lunch?"

"Yeah. Should we head back?"

"Probably."

The two gathered their things and started walking back to class. Before they got there, Sakaki stopped Kagura.

"Umm, Kagura?"

"Yeah? What's up?"

"About your test score..."

"Look, it was just a one-time thing. I didn't study nearly hard enough. I was distracted with the meet and all."

"I know. But I...I just want you to know...that if you need any help, you can always call me."

Kagura smiled. "Thanks, Sakaki. I'll take you up on that one."

Sakaki just nodded, still red faced. They went into the room together, making it just in time before the bell for class rang.


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N: Hello once again! I hope the faster updates are keeping you all on your toes. That being said, you're all coming up on the grand finale of the story. That's right. Only three more chapters left! So please, read, review, enjoy! **

School wasn't getting any easier for Kagura. While she was happy to be back competing, the time it took for her to go to practice and meets was cutting into her study time, and it was starting to show. Her grades slipping, she started losing focus. In short, she was falling back to her old habits.

It wasn't just the swimming that was getting her into grade trouble. After that day at lunch with Sakaki, Kagura was more confused than ever. They had held a decent conversation that had ended with Sakaki offering to help her with her homework, instead of her running off the roof. Kagura wasn't sure how to handle both of her reactions. One time, the girl seemed all but terrified of her, and the next she was inviting her to do homework together. The mixed messages she was getting were just making things worse.

Kagura had just gotten another test back. The big red 61 showed improvement, but she was still nowhere close to where she needed to be. She had grown used to getting these kinds of scores, so instead of breaking down like she had the first time, she silently stuffed the paper into her bag and went about her day, as if the score didn't bother her as much as it did. Every time she got a score back, she thought about what she could have done to change it. She could have started studying earlier. Studied longer, harder. Maybe even called Sakaki for help.

The last option was hard to accept for Kagura. She knew that with Sakaki's help, her grades could be where they needed to be. But being as stubborn as she was, there was no way she was going to ask for help. Instead, she continued to struggle through the tests.

At the end of the day, Kagura went to swim practice and worked hard, trying to put the test behind her. After practice, she dragged herself out of the pool, exhausted. As she stood on the deck drying off, Nyamo came up to her.

"Good work, Kagura. You really pushed yourself today."

"Thanks, Coach. I try."

"I know that. Anyways, go get dressed and come back out here afterwards. I've got something to talk to you about."

"Oh. Umm, alright. Be right back." Kagura said as she headed back to the locker room. Nyamo could have wanted to talk about any number of things, from her grades to her swimming to Sakaki. She quickly put on her street clothes and went back onto the pool deck, meeting Nyamo near the deep end. She took a seat on one of the lounge chairs near her coach and looked her intently, wondering what she was going to have to say.

"So...how are your classes?"

Kagura blushed a bit. She had a feeling that Nyamo had gotten a hold of her recent test scores, and wouldn't be too pleased with them.

"They're alright. A bit harder than I expected."

"I've kind of gotten that impression."

"You've seen, huh?"

"Yes, Kagura. At this point, I'm ready to say you can't come to practice if you don't start scoring better."

"Coach, you can't be serious!"

"Kagura. Listen to me." Kagura settled down, a frightened look on her face. "Your grades are more important than your swim season right now. You need the grades for school."

"Coach, I can do better."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'll study harder, longer, start sooner...I'll do it all."

"I'm glad to hear it. But sometimes, you can't just do it yourself. You know what else would help?" Kagura was stumped. She looked at Nyamo, a curious look on her face. "You should know what I'm about to say."

Kagura blushed again, the bridge of her nose a brilliant pink. She knew where this was headed.

"I don't need to ask her for help."

"Kagura, your grades were so much better when she was helping you."

"So? Maybe I could get someone else to teach me."

"Like who?"

"I don't know. Chiyo-chan."

"While Chiyo-chan is very smart, do you really think you'd be able to learn much from her?" Kagura remained silent, answering Nyamo's question without words. "You know, maybe this could be good for you. It would get you talking again..."

"We already have talked." Kagura interrupted. Nyamo sat quietly, expecting the athlete to continue. "She...offered to help me study." Kagura mumbled, admitting defeat to her coach. Nyamo smiled, knowing that this talk would more than likely get Kagura to start asking Sakaki for help in class.

"And why didn't you take her up on her offer?"

"I don't know...it's a long story."

"I've got time."

Kagura proceeded to explain the whole situation to Nyamo, about the encounter on the roof the day of the first meet, how Sakaki had ended up running away from her, and then how they had been ditched at lunch to sit alone together, and how it ended up as one big confusing mess.

"I just don't know what I want right now. I want to swim, I want to go to a good school, I want Sakaki back...it just feels like I can't have all three."

"You know, you probably could have all of them. You just have to find a balance."

"How?"

"First, you need to get your grades up. That's the most important of the three, even if you don't think so," Nyamo added when she saw the face Kagura made. "So, obviously you need to start talking to Sakaki to get homework help."

"That's gonna be...harder than it sounds."

"I didn't say you need to fix things with her right off the bat. Focus on getting homework help first. I have hunch that once that starts going well, the rest will take care of itself."

"You really think so?"

"Just call it a guess."

"Okay...but what about swimming?"

"Oh yeah. That. Here."

Nyamo reached in her coat pocket and pulled out a rather professional looking letter. She started to hand it to Kagura, but held it just out of the athlete's reach.

"This is mainly why I needed you out here after practice, but I'm glad we had the chance to talk about your grades...among other things."

"Yeah, I am too. What's in the envelope?"

"Not so fast. You can have it once you promise to ask for help."

"Yeah, I promise." Nyamo gave Kagura a look. "Honest! I'll...talk to Sakaki tonight."

"That's what I like to hear." Nyamo said as she passed the letter to Kagura. She stood and waved goodbye to the athlete, leaving her alone on the pool deck.

The second Nyamo was out of sight, Kagura tore open the envelope to get to the letter inside. She unfolded the thick paper and began reading.

_Dear Miss Kagura, we are pleased to inform you..._

Sakaki wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. She had just finished closing up the cafe, which meant she had to clear all the tables, sweep, do all the dishes, and make sure everything was in its place. It took her a while to accomplish all of these tasks, but once she was finished, she left the sparkling clean shop and headed home. Upon exiting and locking up, Sakaki pulled out her phone, seeing that she had a missed call. Checking the time and knowing that the person who had called would be at home, she dialed the number and waited for the person on the other end, who answered quickly.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Kagura. You called?"

"Yeah...umm, how are you?"

"I'm good. You?"

"I'm doing pretty good. You know...we have that English test in a couple of days..." Kagura trailed off. She could never come straight out and ask for help from anyone.

"I know. How about you meet me at the shop after practice? We can go over the materials then."

Kagura smiled. Even now, Sakaki knew how much Kagura hated to ask for help, especially involving schoolwork. She appreciated how she hadn't made her actually ask. "Yeah, I'd like that. Tomorrow then?"

"Yeah. See you then."

"Okay. Thanks Sakaki."

"No problem."

Sakaki hung up the phone. There were still butterflies in her stomach when she got home. Calling Kagura wasn't supposed to make her as nervous as it had. Tomorrow was just supposed to be her and Kagura studying, two friends going over notes for a test they had coming up. But it was so much more than that, and she knew it. Before going to bed that night, Sakaki made sure to go over her own notes from class, to check and see if she had everything she'd need for the following afternoon. When she was satisfied that she had the necessary books, papers, and notes, she went to sleep, not sure how to feel about the day coming up.

Surprisingly, the next day flew by for Kagura. She had ended the previous night on a high note. In fact, all of yesterday seemed to go her way. She just hoped that her study session with Sakaki that evening would go as well as she hoped. After practice, she set out for the cafe. When she got there, she entered the small shop, scanning the room for Sakaki. Sure enough, the tall girl sat at a table alone, textbooks open and notebooks spread across the table. Her nose buried in her notes, Kagura couldn't help but grin as she looked at Sakaki. Her old confidence back, she strode across the room to where Sakaki sat, giving a small cough to alert Sakaki to her presence.

"Oh. I didn't see you there. Sorry."

"No worries. I just got here. Now, let's start this thing." Kagura said with a smile as she took out her own books. Sakaki eyed Kagura warily. It wasn't like the athlete to get excited about studying, especially a subject that didn't involve health or gym. Once Kagura had spread her materials across the table in a very disorderly fashion, she looked expectantly at Sakaki.

"So...where to start?"

"Umm...well, we could start with the verb conjugations..."

The two got to work. And it quickly became apparent that Kagura was way behind in her studies. Sakaki found herself explaining the same things multiple times, while Kagura continued to mess up the same things repeatedly. Finally, after spending a few futile hours on the same subject, Sakaki suggested moving on to other assignments. By this time, Kagura's good mood had vanished, and she had had enough.

"Well...maybe we could try studying for the literature test next week..."

"Look, Sakaki. I'm all studied out. I've been trying for hours, and we haven't gotten anywhere."

"That's not true...we made a little progress."

"A little as in I learned my verbs. Which took three hours."

"It's a start."

"Well, thanks for trying. I appreciate it."

"Of course."

"I'm gonna head out...wanna walk home?"

Sakaki nodded. The afternoon, although stressful, had been surprisingly pleasant. Things were not nearly as awkward as she thought they would be, and she had enjoyed being in Kagura's company as much as she did when they were together. The two packed up their things and left the cafe, heading towards their houses. Small talk was made, and eventually, they got on topic of Kagura's swimming.

"How have the meets been going?"

"Great! I've still got it!" Kagura said with a large grin. "Oh! I forgot! Guess what I got?"

"Umm..."

Sakaki started a guess, but was interrupted by the excited athlete.

"A letter!"

Sakaki looked down at Kagura skeptically. A letter was nothing to get worked up about. Kagura noticed the look on her face, and realized how plain her last statement was.

"No, no. Not just any boring old letter. A scouting letter! From that school!" Kagura was bursting at the seams with energy. She hadn't told anyone about the letter yet. It only seemed fitting that Sakaki be one of, if not the first to know. "They still want me to compete for them!"

The source of Kagura's exhilaration now revealed, Sakaki allowed herself a small smile.

"Congrats. I'm...proud of you."

Both girls blushed at the comment. Neither were quite sure how to respond, so Kagura uttered a quick thanks and put her head down to continue walking in silence. Luckily, the road splitting their houses was near, and they both continued down their own paths to their respective houses, giving them time to think about what was happening.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N: Hey there! I'll keep this short. This is, as you all know, the chapter before the finale! Final chapter will be posted on Friday. That's all. Keep calm and Read, review, enjoy!**

The third and final school year was quickly coming to a close. And Kagura was feeling on top of the world. With a dominating finish to her high school swimming career, Kagura had managed to take home first place in multiple events in her last high school meet, making her story well-known around the world of high school and college swimming. The last meet itself had been particularly eventful. All of Kagura's friends had been there to support her; she had told them each about the letter she had received, getting the expected feedback from all of them. Once Tomo figured out what it was, she had cheered excitedly, going over the top to congratulate the athlete. Osaka had no clue what she had been talking about, but congratulated her all the same. Yomi had praised her in a very simple way, and Chiyo had been very excited for her as well, but not to the extent that Tomo had been. Either way, the five had taken time out from their schedules to come cheer Kagura on, something the athlete really appreciated. They had watched her win races by mere milliseconds, and saw her take home an array of awards, ranging from first, second and third places. They witnessed a couple of tears from a proud Nyamo, and even more from Kagura once she saw that her coach was tearing up. Overall, the end of the swim season was bittersweet for Kagura, especially since she knew it wasn't the end of her career.

With swim season done and out of the way, Kagura started taking her studies even more seriously. Her and Sakaki met regularly to study for tests and finish homework. The athlete's short attention span for schoolwork usually meant that the two spent about a half an hour to forty-five minutes actually studying, after which Sakaki would continue working hard while Kagura was left to her own devices. These study sessions lasted anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours; whenever Sakaki was finished, that's when they left. However, even with Kagura's lack of academic motivation, just spending that time reviewing with Sakaki proved to have a profound effect on Kagura's grades. Soon, she started reaching the low 70s for scores, something she was very proud of herself for. Those grades, although not the best, were enough to qualify for her scholarship. The only thing in her way now was actually being admitted into the school.

And with results being posted the next day, Kagura was a nervous wreck. The night before her university's acceptance boards came out, Kagura tried to tell herself that it was it was all going to work out. Lately, things had been going her way, but she worried that her luck was about to run out. This was the one test she hadn't felt the best about after finishing, and it was worrying her. Deciding that she needed to clear her head, she laced up her running shoes and went out for a short jog. She had been cleared to run again, but she didn't push it. Swimming had become her main focus, and while running was good cross-training, it was no longer a priority. She set out at a leisurely pace, enjoying orange glow that the sunset was casting about her neighborhood. She found herself jogging in the park, past the ice cream stand that her and Sakaki had gone on their first date, around the cafe that they did their homework together. Her run continued through the city, past the movie theater where her and Sakaki had seen many a movie. She found herself near the arcade. Checking the time, she slowed to walk and went inside, figuring she had time for a round or two of the new first person shooter that had just come out a week ago. When she got there, she was greeted by a not-so surprising sight. There stood Tomo, blasting away at the digital bad guys, occasionally letting loose an obscenity or two. When the "Game Over" screen popped up, Tomo slammed the gun down and starting digging furiously in her pockets for a few more coins. With a sly grin, she snuck up behind the wildcat, who was still struggling to get the money out of her pockets. She grabbed the girl by the shoulders and shook her with a shout. The sudden action made the wildcat jump and swing her arms wildly, narrowly missing Kagura. She stumbled back into the game, where she stayed, leaning against the machine, breathing heavily.

"You psycho! What's your problem?"

"Oh, c'mon. It was just a joke."

"Whatever. How'd you find me here? Did you follow me?"

"No? Why...did you do something that I should know about?"

"No, actually. I've been on my best behavior. I've just been down here all night because Yomi wanted to go to bed early."

"Oh, her results come in tomorrow too, huh?"

"Yeah. Something like that. Well...since you're here, you up for a round?"

"You read my mind." Kagura finished with a grin. She pulled out her own money and inserted it into the game, and the two started fending off the attacking zombies onscreen.

After they had finished their game, the two girls left the arcade, wandering the streets. They entered the park, continuing to walk down the center of the path. Suddenly, Tomo stopped walking, looking up to the branches above. Kagura stared at her curiously, wondering what sort of strange things were undoubtedly going through her mind.

"I'm tired." Tomo announced.

"What?"

"I'm tired." She restated simply.

"Well, you can go home, you know."

"No, no. I want to sit. Not walk."

"Oh. Well, there's a bench just a ways up here..."

Tomo ignored Kagura's last statement and proceeded to walk off the path, onto the grass and through the bushes. Rolling her eyes, Kagura hurried after her, trying to find out what the wildcat had in mind. She followed her for a bit before coming to a stop in front of a large tree. She watched as Tomo scrambled up the first branch with a bit of difficulty, but was able to climb up a few more with relative ease. She eventually took a seat on a thick branch, looking down at Kagura expectantly.

"You think I'm gonna climb up there?"

"What? Too high for you?"

"I never said that."

"Then get your ass up here!"

Kagura sighed and shook her head, but did as she was told. Unlike for Tomo, the climb was easy. When she got to the branch Tomo was sitting on, she took a seat as well, and admired the view. The branch was up high enough to be above most of the leaves of the other trees, and it allowed for a great view of the sun setting on the city. The spot seemed to have a profound effect on both of them. Kagura found herself smiling at the sunset for no reason, and she felt more relaxed than she had all day. Tomo was the quietest Kagura had ever seen her. She sat motionlessly, just staring at nothing in particular, as if she were in a trance. The sight slightly unnerved Kagura, seeing the wildcat as calm as she was, but those feelings quickly dissipated when she looked at the sunset once more.

"Tomo...this is great."

"You think so, huh? This is my second favorite place in the city."

"What's your first?"

"The arcade."

"Figures."

"Anyways, glad you like it. Seemed fitting that I come up here tonight, with school practically done and all."

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

"You worried about tomorrow?"

"Worried would be an understatement."

"I thought your grades were good now? I mean, I did have to kick you out of the knuckleheads, after all."

"They are. I just didn't do too hot on the test, I think."

"Well..."

"Well what?"

"There's absolutely jack you can do about it now."

"Thanks for being so...reassuring, Tomo."

"Hey, it's the truth!"

"And I'm guessing you're expecting to get into your school?"

"Damn right. I feel good about the test."

"What about your grades?"

"Umm...they'll take care of themselves."

"You really should have studied with someone this year, Tomo. It makes a huge difference."

"Like who? With you? You know we wouldn't have gotten anything done."

"No, like maybe Yomi."

"Nah. She begged me to study, but I doubt she would have wanted me to study with her."

"You never know."

"And I never will."

"You're not going to the same school?"

"Nope."

"Really? I just thought..."

"That we would go to the same place?"

"Well, yeah."

"I've gotten that a lot, actually. But I guess it's probably for the best that we go to different schools. It'll be hard to find someone to replace her. But I guess it had to happen sometime, and what better time than college, right?"

"I guess..."

"What about you?"

"What?"

"Are you and Sakaki going to the same school?"

"No, she's trying for a vet school."

"And how's that going to go?"

"I'm sure she'll get in."

"Not that, idiot."

"Huh?"

"How's that going to go, with her going to a different school than you and all?"

"I don't know. Fine, I guess. We'll keep in touch...I hope."

Tomo looked at Kagura, eyebrows raised. "You guys still aren't talking?"

"No...I mean, we are...but not like before...what's it to you, anyways?"

"Just curious."

"But why? You always ask about her."

"Yeah? So?"

Kagura shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose. She couldn't understand why Tomo asked the questions she did, or acted how she did. She had no interest in trying, either. Figuring out the inner workings of Tomo's mind was a task better left to the professionals and Yomi. When she looked up, she saw the wildcat dangling from the perch they were sitting on, trying to drop herself down to a lower branch. Her toes unable to reach, she went ahead and let go anyways. Her foot caught the branch on the way down, but didn't hold. Falling fast, Tomo reached out to grab the branch on the way down. She caught it awkwardly, nailing her chin on the wood and catching herself by her armpits. With a defeated groan, she let go, falling the rest of the way down to the ground below them. She crumpled awkwardly, then rolled onto her back, spread eagled.

"Shit! Tomo!" Kagura shouted down to the wildcat as she started to climb down herself, much more cautiously than Tomo had been. She continued trying to call to the girl the whole way down, not waiting for a response. When she reached the grass, she hurried over to Tomo.

"Huh...never had that happen before."

"Dammit, Tomo, you could've really gotten hurt!"

"Hey, shit happens. Like I said, that's never happened before..." she put a hand up to her chin and pulled it away, fresh blood coating her fingers. She looked up at Kagura nervously, then flashed a toothy grin. "Are they still all there?"

"Yes, numbnut, you still have all of your teeth. You should go home and clean up though. Does anything else hurt?"

"Hmm...does my pride count?"

"I'm sure that'll heal fast enough."

Kagura helped Tomo to her feet and the two started to make their way out of the park. When they reached the intersection that would separate their paths, Tomo stopped. Kagura looked back, confused.

"Hey, Kagura?"

"What's up?"

"How dumb do you think I am?"

"Where the hell did that come from?"

"I'm serious. Do you really think I'm that oblivious?"

"You've lost it, Tomo. I don't know what you're talking about."

"All I'm saying is there's a reason I ask the questions I do. I'm surprised you haven't caught on yet." Tomo said with a cheshire grin. Before Kagura could even make sense of what the wildcat had just said, Tomo took off into the night towards her house, leaving Kagura to stand alone under the streetlight to ponder her puzzling parting message.

Kagura hadn't gotten a minute of sleep. Thoughts of the results and Tomo's cryptic message were plaguing her mind, leaving her too busy to sleep. When morning came around, she had dragged herself up and out of bed, blurry-eyed, but awake. She quickly got ready for the day and set out to see the results herself. She wanted to be the first one there, but she knew that she wouldn't be. She just had to see for herself, before Tomo or anyone else would look for her and ruin the surprise.

When she reached the postings, she was not surprised to see the huge crowd gathered around, everyone searching for their respective number. She tentatively made her way to the front, her own worries and fears keeping her from shoving everyone aside like she knew she could have. She reached the board for her school and began scrolling slowly through the numbers. Her breath caught as she noticed she wasn't in the first row. Coaxing herself to continue her search, she began a second row, then a third. Finally, she reached the fourth and final row. Closing her eyes and muttering a quick prayer, she willed herself to scan the last row of numbers.


	35. Chapter 35

Kagura opened her eyes. With steely determination, she forced herself to look at the numbers. She didn't want to think about what she would do if she couldn't find her number on the list.

Thankfully, she didn't have to. There, about halfway down, was her number.

Sheer relief flooded through Kagura, to the point where she almost collapsed then and there. She had made it. She was going to school. She was swimming. Two of things she was most worried about where now checked off, secured. She sprinted off, ready to share the news with anyone and everyone she came in contact with.

The first place she went was the pool. It was the natural choice, since she knew Nyamo would be there. Without a doubt, the swimming coach stood on the pool deck, watching as the team did laps. She heard the gate swing open and slam close, and she saw a very excited Kagura sprinting up to her. Bracing herself, Nyamo caught Kagura as the athlete pulled her into a bear hug.

With a laugh, Nyamo said, "I take it you got in."

"Coach! I did it! I'm going to college, and I get to swim too!"

"Congratulations, Kagura. I'm proud of you."

"Thank you so much, Coach. I honestly don't think I could have done it without you."

"Don't thank just me. Who helped you get your grades up?"

"Oh! Right! I've got someone else to thank. Catch you later, Coach!"

Kagura waved as she ran out of the pool area, leaving a smiling Nyamo behind. She ran towards Sakaki's house, but stopped a few blocks before her street.

_Hmm...showing up unannounced might not be such a great idea. Maybe...let's see..._

The gears whirling in her head, Kagura devised a quick strategy. She'd invite the whole gang to lunch, then when they all left, she'd take Sakaki somewhere special, just the two of them. Proud of her genius, she proceeded to call the rest of her friends. All of them answered and agreed to meet up at noon at the cafe Sakaki worked at.

The group assembled outside of the cafe. Kagura was there first, followed shortly by Chiyo and Osaka, then Yomi and Tomo. Kagura glanced down at her watch. 12:15. It wasn't like Sakaki to be late. Her eyes wandered as she kept a look out for the tall girl while the others made small talk.

"Well, we already know that Miss Kagura got into her school," Chiyo had started happily, "does anyone else know if they got in as well?"

"My results don't come in for another couple of days." Yomi replied.

"Just delaying the inevitable..."

"Shut it, Tomo. What about you?"

"I actually got in, thanks."

"Wow! Congratulations, Miss Tomo!"

"Why thank you, Chiyo-chan. At least you appreciate my successes."

"Wow, ya got in on your first try?"

"That I did, Osaka! Hey, why does everyone seem so surprised?"

Kagura scarcely noticed that Tomo had began going off on a rant about how no one believed in her. She checked the time again, noting that Sakaki was more than a half an hour late.

_She's never this late...did something happen to her? Maybe she got held up somewhere...or can't make it anymore. Either way, I thought she would have at least called by now..._

Kagura was brought back to her senses by Tomo poking her shoulder.

"Huh? What's up?"

"I should be asking you that. Where's Sakaki?"

"See, that's the thing. I don't know. She's normally not like this..."

"Maybe one of us should call her." Yomi said.

"Kagura'll do it." Tomo volunteered the athlete, who was already in the process of calling. However, the phone rang straight through to voicemail, puzzling Kagura even further. Just this morning, Sakaki had seemed excited to go to lunch with her and the rest of the gang. Now she wasn't even answering her phone.

"Guys, she didn't answer."

"Are ya sure she said she was comin'?"

"Yeah, we talked about it not even a few hours ago."

"Maybe she got held up at the results boards."

"What are you talking about, Yomi?"

"Her results came out today for that big vet school. Didn't she tell you?"

"No..." A feeling of dread came over Kagura. "Guys...you don't think...she didn't get in, do you?"

Yomi adjusted her glasses. "I doubt it. I don't see why she wouldn't have."

"But that would explain why she's not here."

"Miss Kagura, you should try calling her again."

Kagura nodded and dialed the number again, but was left unanswered a second time.

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Well, why don't you go talk to her?"

"What did you say, Tomo?"

"I said, go talk to her. Lord knows you two need to start talking again."

Kagura eyed the wildcat suspiciously. Tomo nodded to Osaka, who took a confused Chiyo into the restaurant, claiming that she had to go to the bathroom. That left Yomi, Tomo, and Kagura standing outside on the sidewalk.

"Tomo, what are you trying to say?"

"Isn't it obvious? Go find her! Go be her knight in shining armor! Save the day...all that good shit."

"I'm not her 'knight in shining armor'. Where the hell did you come up with that?"

"Kagura, you're stupider than I am."

"Shut up! I honestly have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Kagura, what Tomo's trying to say is...we know about you and Sakaki." Yomi stepped in before the two could have a go at each other. Kagura stood there, dumbstruck.

"How the fuck..." was all Kagura was able to get out.

"Surprisingly, Tomo was the one who found out first." Yomi stated coolly. Tomo stood next to her, a cocky grin present on her face. She nodded sagely, as if recalling the whole situation.

"Yes, yes...I remember it well..." Tomo started.

"Cut to the chase, Tomo. You've got about twenty seconds to explain where you got all this..."

"Okay, okay. Remember that time we went to the arcade and you said you and Sakaki got into a fight?" Tomo paused and Kagura nodded, signaling for her continue. "Well, I guess that's kind of what got me started. That and the day before school started, how you were all sorts of depressed. That's what really let me in on it. After that, I tried to set you two back up a few times. I told her about that swim meet of yours, and I planned to ditch you two at lunch so you'd have to sit together by yourselves for a bit..."

"You planned all of that!? Tomo I swear I'm..."

"Kagura, calm down." Yomi interrupted. "Tomo was just trying to help, even if it was in her own crazy way."

"Oh yeah? And how long have you known?"

"Actually, I didn't know until Tomo told me. I didn't have a clue."

This calmed Kagura down a bit. She knew the only reason Tomo had known was because of how much time they had spent together.

"So...who else knows?"

"Just us and Osaka."

"And?"

"And what?"

"I...I don't know. I mean...you guys aren't...you know, like weirded out by it or anything?"

"Pssh! Yeah right! Whatever you two do mphmhmm..." Tomo was cut off by Yomi pressing a palm against her mouth.

"What Tomo means is that we're all okay with it." She looked down at the struggling wildcat dangerously. "Right, Tomo?"

When she nodded, Yomi released her. "Yeah, yeah. That's what I meant..." Tomo grumbled at Yomi.

Kagura stood in stunned silence. The facts were finally sinking in, although none of them seemed real. Knowing that Tomo had been the first of their friends to find out was surprising, but the simple fact that she hadn't told everyone right away was beyond belief. She was also surprised at how well they took the news. _Well, I suppose they did bring it up...if they weren't okay with it, they wouldn't have said anything._ She told herself. Overall, she was extremely grateful to have the friends she did.

"So...what now?"

"Weren't you listening, moron? Go find her!" Tomo yelled, an exasperated look on her face.

"I...I don't know where to start!"

"I'd say start by the results boards, see if she's still there and just caught up in the crowd." Yomi suggested.

"Yeah, okay. Good idea." Kagura nodded, hoping that she would find Sakaki there and that the whole thing was just blown out of proportion. "I'll head there now, if that's okay?"

"Just give us a call when you find her."

"Yeah, will do."

Kagura turned to run off towards the boards, but stopped herself when she overheard Tomo say to Yomi:

"Yomi, you know she's not gonna call us when she finds her! They're just going to..."

Tomo's sentence was broken off by Kagura whacking her in the back of the head. Afterwards, the athlete sprinted off, leaving Tomo clutching her head, but wearing a stupid grin, and Yomi smiling slightly.

After running the whole way there, Kagura reached the boards, sweaty and out of breath. She looked around the mass of people, searching for any sign of Sakaki. When she couldn't find her right away, she moved closer to the vet school's board, hoping to find her there. However, Sakaki was nowhere to be found. Kagura sat down on a nearby bench and started to think.

_Where would Sakaki be? We know she's not at work. Hmm...where would she go? _Kagura thought of all the places Sakaki might even be. Her house was the obvious place to start her search, so Kagura started jogging towards it. Being a weekday, she knew Sakaki's parents would be at work, so she could avoid an awkward confrontation with them. When she reached the house, Kagura caught her breath, then knocked on the door. When there was no answer, she tried again. She called the house phone, then Sakaki's cell, which had been turned off. Somehow, Kagura knew she wasn't just ignoring her; Sakaki was not here. Kagura sat down on the porch, trying to figure out her next move. She considered the places that Sakaki would go to avoid running into anyone she knew.

_She really likes that pet store down by the arcade...but she couldn't be there all day. The school roof? No, that's locked up. Where the hell would she go? It'd probably be quiet...someplace that only she knew about. Except..._

In that instant, Kagura knew exactly where Sakaki would be. If she wasn't there, then Kagura would be forced to admit that she couldn't find her. She took off back towards the park in her last-ditch effort to find her.

_Maybe it's somewhere that only WE know about._

Kagura ran through the park, pushing her way through the people walking peacefully on the walkway. She jumped off the path and stumbled through the bushes. At last, she burst through the brush into a clearing.

"Sa..." Kagura cut herself off. There, in the clearing, sat Sakaki. Her eyes were puffy and her face was red and blotchy. She had watched Kagura enter the clearing with a dull expression that showed not sadness or anger, just an emptiness that could have come from extreme devastation.

Neither of the girls spoke as Kagura walked cautiously towards Sakaki. She wasn't sure how Sakaki would react, and she was certain that the way she acted would influence Sakaki's actions as well. Slowly, Kagura sat down next to Sakaki. Sakaki's eyes hadn't left Kagura the entire time. She watched as the athlete lowered herself to the ground, noticing the slight hitch in the athlete's otherwise smooth descent as her weak knee bent to its fullest extent.

She had nothing to say.

Still looking at Kagura, Sakaki reached out and took her hand. She gripped it tightly, feeling Kagura's surprisingly soft hands react to her touch. At this point, Sakaki had to look away. She cast her gaze to nothing in particular, a few tears beginning to well up in her eyes once again. She heard Kagura scoot over to her, and she felt Kagura's thumb rubbing her own hand in a comforting way.

She hadn't counted on Kagura finding her. And yet, she was glad she had.

They sat in silence for a bit. Kagura knew that now wasn't the time to force Sakaki into speaking. She'd come around soon enough. Until then, she just had to wait. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Sakaki turned back to Kagura. For a brief moment, they held eye contact, neither sure what to do next.

Sakaki leaned over, resting her head on Kagura's shoulder. She didn't want to cry anymore. Not in front of Kagura.

Kagura let go of Sakaki's hand and wrapped the now free arm around Sakaki, pulling her in tight. She wanted to be there to protect her.

And with that gesture, Sakaki felt genuinely safe. It was just her and Kagura. The way it was supposed to be. She knew that Kagura was there to protect her. And that knowledge allowed Sakaki to let loose the welled up emotions swirling around inside of her. The tears followed freely as she turned her head into Kagura's shoulder, wrapping both arms around the athlete's waist. Kagura rested her chin on Sakaki's head, returning the embrace.

They sat tangled up together for a bit before Sakaki pulled back, sniffling. Kagura tenderly wiped a tear out from under Sakaki's eye as the two stared into each other's eyes once again. They sat back against the tree, holding hands.

"I-I-I..." Sakaki started, her voice cracking. "I didn't...I thought..."

"Sakaki, it's okay. You don't have to say anything."

"I just...I...what am I..."

"Sakaki, hold on a second. You applied to other schools, right?" Sakaki nodded in response, too choked up to say anything more. "You'll get into those. I swear."

"B-b-but I wanted..."

"Sakaki, I know that was a really good school. But it's not the end of world. There are other good schools. You'll get into those."

"No." Kagura looked at the shy girl, taken aback by the sudden outburst. "I-I wanted...to go there...be-be-because it's close..."

"Oh, Sakaki, you'll get to come home. You don't need to worry about getting homesick."

"It was...was close to...to your school."

Kagura looked at the girl in stunned silence. Sakaki didn't just want to get into that school for the programs...she wanted to go there because she knew she was going to get that scholarship!

Kagura looked at Sakaki. Taking her one hand in both of hers, Kagura looked at Sakaki with a fiery look that she reserved for competition.

"Sakaki, now you listen to me. To be honest, I'm honored that you wanted to go to school close to me. I really am. But now that that's not an option, you gotta think about what else there is for you. You know how you told me to start studying because it wasn't a for sure thing that I'd get better? I did it. And it still paid off. You're gonna get into those other schools, graduate top of the class, and get a fancy vet job somewhere. And you don't have to go to that one school for it. And if you're worried about not being close to me...well, I can't say I can come visit you all the time, but we'll stay in touch. We can talk about anything and everything, no secrets, none of the crap I pulled before. We'll share everything, successes and failures. And if you've got something bothering you, you'll be able to call anytime. Hell, you could call me at three in the morning, and if I could hop on a train to your school, you can bet your ass I'd do it. You can be damn sure I'll always be there for you."

Kagura finished strong, staring directly into Sakaki's eyes, looking for some sort of reaction. Surprisingly, she got one.

Sakaki pulled Kagura into a fierce kiss, taking the athlete by the collar of her shirt and yanking her roughly against her. The two fumbled around a bit, struggling to gain control of the moment, yet each savoring each other's touch, as well as how raw and emotion-filled the kiss was. It was nothing like the couple had shared before, although no circumstances had ever called for such a kiss either. When they finally broke apart, they locked gazes, neither wanting to end the moment so soon. Finally, Sakaki broke the silence.

"I love you."

Kagura grinned. "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear that again." She said as she pecked Sakaki quickly on the lips. "I love you too."

Kagura looked around at her empty room. All of her more important possessions were packed up into well-labeled cardboard boxes, moved out into the hallways and down the stairs. Her desk was bare, something she couldn't remember ever seeing, so used to it being littered with magazines, scattered papers, video game controllers, and snacks. Her television and Playstation were already packed and in the car, those being some of the first things Kagura had wanted to pack. The magazines and books that she chose not to bring were stacked neatly on shelves, along with all of the various trophies and medals that she had earned over the years. Her walls had been stripped of the posters depicting swimmers and track athletes, and while a few choice posters had been rolled up neatly and were now resting atop the packed boxes, those that didn't make the cut were stowed away in her now-clean closet, along with the rest of the things that were going to be left behind. She sat down on her bare bed, taking in the sight.

Today was move in day.

Being an athlete, Kagura was the first to move in. The gang had said their goodbyes the night before, with the group going out to a fun dinner and singing a few rounds of horribly off-key karaoke. The night had ended in many laughs, hugs, and even a few tears. Chiyo-chan had teared up a bit, and Kagura could have sworn she saw a bit of a glisten in Tomo's eyes as well. However, the wildcat had run off before she could have been certain.

Kagura took a shaky breath, then exhaled. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, reading the time. Her parents would be finished packing up the last of her stuff in the car before long, and they'd be heading out within the hour. She only hoped...

"Kagura! There's someone here for you!"

She jumped up off the bed and descended down the stairs as fast as she could. Standing in the doorway stood Sakaki, dressed up as nice as Kagura ever seen her.

"Kagura, we're leaving in twenty. Make sure you've got everything out of your room!"

"Yeah, Mom, I got it." Kagura called back. She grinned at Sakaki, and the two made their way up to Kagura's room.

"It's...clean." Sakaki said incredulously.

"Hey, I bet yours will look the same."

"I guess..."

The two sat down on the bed, since there was nowhere else to sit.

"Are you nervous?"

"Is that even a question? Of course I am."

"You'll be okay."

"Well I knew that. But you know what would make me feel better?"

"Hmm?"

"This." Kagura said as she gave Sakaki a short, sweet kiss. "There. Better already."

"I'm going to miss you."

"Oh, you have no idea. I'll miss you too."

"Will you...will you call me tonight? Let me know how you're doing?"

"Yeah, I could do that."

"Don't forget."

"I won't."

"Promise?"

"Yeah. I'm past all that forgetting shit. Just trust me."

"I do."

"Kagura! Time to go!" her dad shouted from down the stairs.

Kagura took Sakaki's hand and pulled her up off the bed. The two went downstairs and out to the car, where Kagura's parents were putting the finishing touches on the packing. Kagura pulled Sakaki into a tight hug, not wanting to let go. Sakaki returned the embrace in a less aggressive manner. When they finally broke apart, Kagura's eyes were shining.

"You'll be okay."

"I know."

"See you at Christmas?"

"It had better be sooner than that!" Kagura said with a chuckle. She got into the cramped car and rolled down the window to wave out to Sakaki. Sakaki returned the gesture. The car backed out of the driveway slowly and down the street, starting the drive to the university. Sakaki continued to wave until the car was out of sight. Once gone, she started walking back towards her own house. She had packing to do still, and she wanted to get it all done right away.

She was expecting a phone call later, after all.

**A/N: And that's a wrap, folks! Seeing as this is the last chapter, I've got some stuff to put out here. First off, thanks to all of you who stuck with the story all the way through to the ending. Even bigger props to those of you who left reviews/PM'd me. Writing's a lot easier when you've got people giving you feedback. Secondly, huge shout out to three pretty important people who were there to praise what I wrote, as well as tear it into pieces if it wasn't up to snuff. Holden, Red, Rodds; you three are the best. On that note, if you're looking for something new to read, I'd highly recommend RedSaltire's Six Comrades or Raro6511's MyAzuStory. Go check 'em out!**

**Well...I guess that's about it. Thank you all for reading! I hate to fish for them, but reviews on the ending/story in general are greatly appreciated/encouraged. Who knows, it might inspire me to write another story...only time will tell! Until then, stay gold, readers!**


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